blink
by aquafina rain
Summary: They were not the karate team. RWXSM
1. Chapter 1

**one**

It was Seiji who was late, not Shuu, and for that the latter was grateful. He suspected awhile ago that there was a bet going around about how many times in a row he would be tardy. It wasn't that he was absent-minded and therefore forgot about a meeting or gathering; it was more like things occupied him until the very last minute.

He'd recently taken up cooking, for example, and that took up most of his attention span. It had been Shin's genius idea.

The four of them—Shuu, Shin, Touma and Ryo—waited outside in the lobby of the theater. They were all dressed in nearly identical suits, save that Touma's was dark blue and Ryo had a bow tie. Shuu stuck his hands in his pockets, fidgeting a little. He wasn't going to lie to himself; he was more comfortable in sweatpants and a hoodie, and he had let everyone in the house know that as he was getting dressed. He'd sighed and moaned and complained until even _Nasuti_ had told him to put a sock in it—and Nasuti wore long socks.

"Geez," Shuu grumbled, "it was his idea in the first place."

Shin smiled at this, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "Then I should thank him. All of you."

Because they'd all decided to get tickets to some fancy recital for his birthday, which explained why Shuu would rather be force-fed a whole live pig than stand around two more seconds for Seiji freakin' Date. Ryo shrugged off the compliment and Touma returned his smile. Shuu just sighed for what seemed to be the billionth time. "Yeah, whatever. If he's not here in five minutes, then I'm going to—"

"What, go in without him?"

"Whatever." Shuu rolled his eyes around before his gaze landed on a cluster of girls huddled together, apparently waiting for other members of their party. "Hey. Check it out."

Despite himself, Touma glanced over to where Shuu had nodded his head. A low whistle escaped his lips. "For once, Shuu, you just might be right."

"Hah, well, what can I—wait, what do you mean, _for once_?"

"Are you kidding?" Ryo started to laugh a little. "Do you remember that girl that _wasn't_ a girl?"

"That was _one time_!" Shuu huffed, crossing his arms. "And you were checking her out too!"

"No, I was checking to see if that fur shirt of hers had a _head_."

"Whatever Ryo, like you have better luck."

Ryo just shrugged again, accepting the battle as a draw, though his eyes trailed on the girls. There were four of them and they were young, around his age, all wearing little black dresses. The brunette was cute; she was tall and leggy, and her heels only emphasized that. The blonde one, though, her dress showed enough back, leg, side and front to make a man crazy. He caught Touma also eyeing her and smirked. Blondie _definitely_ knew what she was doing.

"Am I really in the right place, and are you four really ogling them?" Seiji, disdain laced through his voice, swept his eyes over the girls. He was dressed in white (Ryo never understood why he wanted to stand out all the time, it was tedious attention that could easily be avoided) and had a little flower tucked into his pocket. One of the girls glanced back at him before dismissing him just as quickly. "They're alright."

"You're late; you don't have the right to insult our choice in women!" Shuu made his way towards the balcony entrance, getting a head start. The sooner he stepped into that place, the faster it would be over.

x

Seiji looked over the program a fifth time. There was really only one act that he himself was interested in, and, in other circumstances, he wouldn't have paid so much for the tickets. One glance at Shin's enraptured face, however, chased the thought away. The five of them had been to Hell and back for each other, and splurging on birthday presents was the least Seiji could do. Besides, it wasn't like he was going to _miss_ the money.

He leaned over the balcony edge, glancing around. The current performer wasn't well-known, but her music was alright. Decent, but barely so. _A CD full of this stuff won't make much money_, he mused to himself. That was the problem with anything nowadays—Shin and Touma and even Shuu might be enjoying the performance, but Seiji found it hard to be pleased. It was mediocre music played by mediocre people. There was nothing special.

He'd seen better, heard better. Which was why he was waiting for the last act to come up—a pair of musicians, on the piano and violin. A coworker at the café had recommended them to him, saying they tugged at heartstrings. And, although he wasn't hoping for tears to fall out of his eyes, he was expecting the duet to be _good_.

His eyes fell on the gaggle of girls that the other four had been drooling over earlier—they actually _weren't_ that bad. He could do without the two blondes, though. One was excessively dressed (he didn't see her before, but she was decked in some kind of frilly white dress that was way too extravagant for the event) while the other was far too confident. She walked and talked and stood as if she knew that she turned heads—much like the way he carried himself, and he knew that dating someone like that would be a pain in the ass. The one that had looked at him earlier, though—she was interesting.

And then one of the blondes, the frilly one, jumped as her phone went off. The song was dripping with sugar, with lyrics along the lines of _cherry blossom kiss for your love_ or something like that. She fumbled and dropped the phone; it landed on its side and the volume amplified. Patrons all around her glared and muttered under their breaths, shooting her looks. The other blonde started to laugh quietly, her shoulders shaking and her hand at her mouth. The tall one shook her head, sighing, and the petite one with blue hair tried to bury her face in her hands.

Seiji smiled as the black-haired one—the one that sensed his gaze earlier—started scolding the blonde under her breath, pinching her in the side. "Ow!" the blonde hissed, loudly enough for her words to travel up to the balcony. "Rei-chan, that one hurt!"

"Just shut off your phone," 'Rei-chan' grumbled in irritation. The blond reached for her phone before tumbling off her feet and onto her face. Sighing sharply, 'Rei-chan' grabbed her under the arm and yanked her up roughly.

"Rei-chan, be delicate! I'm made of sugar!"

"That doesn't even make _sense_."

It was at that point an usher came and escorted the two ladies out; the blonde looked crestfallen as she had finally managed to silence her phone.

Beside him, Ryo and Touma were laughing. The three of them shared amused looks. Shuu had fallen asleep in his chair and therefore didn't notice the disturbance, and Shin had tuned all of it out. Sadly enough, that so far had been the highlight of Seiji's evening. That, he decided, was what probably brought him to excuse himself to the bathroom and instead run into the two young women in the lobby. The blonde was crying her eyes out, wailing about ruining the show and free tickets gone to waste and how hungry she was and why wasn't the fruit parlor open? 'Rei-chan' was half-heartedly patting her back, but he could see the exasperation in her eye as she texted someone with her other hand.

"Pardon me," Seiji said, not understanding why he was speaking, because speaking to girls always ended up badly for him, "but would you like to join my friends and me in the balcony? I saw what happened and I just—"

'Rei-chan' smiled, but her eyes were guarded. "Thank you, but we're—"

"Really?" The blonde's tears stopped as she leaned forward in his face. "You mean it?"

"I—yeah," Seiji said, not used to being so caught off guard. "I mean. Yes. If you'd like."

'Rei-chan' was frowning, but the blonde's happiness bubbled over as she cheered up immediately. Seiji found himself leading them back to their balcony (he simply smiled at the usher and they were in, hassle-free—one of the perks of being handsome, he supposed). He ignored Ryo's raised eyebrows and Touma's slight cough. The blonde bounced up to the edge of the balcony, her hands on the edge.

"Wow," she gushed, "the view's _so_ much better here, that fat bald guy's not in front of me. Look, I see the others! Rei-channn, come heeere, it's—"

'Rei-chan' dug in her purse, pulled out a lollipop, and stuck it in the blonde's mouth. Miraculously, for the rest of the performance, she was quiet. As soon as the artist got off stage, however, her mouth opened and she was chattering away again.

"Thankyousomuch, sir, I don't know how else I can tell ya, but I appreciate it bunches. Gosh, I don't know _what_ I would've done if I missed this next act, they said it was gonna be special or something. Oh hey cool, is that a bowtie?"

Seiji blinked. Definitely could do without the blonde one.

"No way, you're _Sanada Ryo_?" The blonde's blue eyes were large as she studied Ryo. Then she said, "But where have I heard your name before? I swear it was on the news or something." She knocked her knuckles against her head, thinking. 'Rei-chan,' who had been quiet thus far, eyed her friend tiredly.

"Does she ever stop?"

She looked at Touma. "No."

Touma nodded, as if understanding. "Yeah, that's just like Shuu over here." He jabbed a thumb at the sleeping, lightly snoring Shuu. "The best way to get him to shut up is knock him out."

"Mm, Usagi needs food." A pause. "Sometimes that doesn't even work."

Touma stretched out his hand. Inwardly, he patted himself on the back for not being a socially inept imbecile, as he was keen to be around anyone who wasn't a trooper or Nasuti or Jun. "Hashiba Touma."

"Hino Rei," she said after a moment of hesitation, and Seiji found himself thinking that her name was also interesting. He continued to watch her, albeit more discreetly than the supposedly sleeping Shuu was. Her dress was modest, though the slit on the side showed more leg than modesty allowed. It was her eyes, though, that Seiji found so captivating—her eyes simply swept over him, as if he were a tree in a forest, or a star in the sky.

Seiji wasn't bigheaded (in fact, he was quite the opposite), but it wasn't often that he found someone who couldn't care less about his existence.

"Date Seiji," he suddenly cut into their conversation, ignoring Touma's slight amusement. Rei eyed his hand with something like caution—like if she were to grab it, she'd be poisoned. As if he were venomous. Like Naaza.

Almost reluctantly she accepted his hand, but she drew it away quickly. "Thank you for allowing us to continue watching the show."

She was being exceedingly formal to him, a much different face from the one that had been at ease with Touma. While this sort of behavior from a girl was usually welcome with him, Seiji didn't understand why it made him nervous. Tension floated from her and Seiji felt an awkwardness he hadn't experienced in a long time—he didn't know what to say, what to do. She avoided his gaze and stared instead at the stage. A girl was rolling a piano across stage, smiling abashedly at the polite applause.

"Oh oh oh!" Rei's blonde friend suddenly shrieked. "You're the tiger boy! From years ago! We saw you on TV!"

This, Seiji noticed, caught Rei's attention. She was eyeing Ryo with more scrutiny, but the blonde clasped her hands in front of her chest.

"I thought that was so brave, what you did. I mean, how many people can say they saved a boy from getting into an accident? Say, do you still talk to that boy? Oh and did you really steal that tiger from the zoo? Oh gosh how rude of me, I'm Tsukino Usagi!"

"Um," Ryo said. Thankfully he was saved from answering by the next performance—the duet that Seiji had been looking forward to. He pulled out his binoculars, studying the stage. The woman was elegant in every movement—plucking her violin strings, tossing her hair over her shoulder, looking out into the audience. She was like a queen from the ocean, he concluded. The second half of the duet was more rough around the edges—tall where the queen was short, golden where the queen was glitter—a king instead of a queen.

The queen let one note soar and Seiji let go of the breath he didn't realize he was holding. It was just the queen playing, the notes swaying through the auditorium. They were filled with longing, with hope—and also with finality. With conclusion. They were sharp, precise, and yet Seiji felt soothed. He felt like he was slipping away with every stab of notes. The youja, Arago, darkness threatening to engulf his light—all that vanished as the queen waved her wand.

Then the king started to glide his fingers along the piano, and Seiji opened his eyes. He was captivated—the queen's intro had been soft, but the king's was fierce. He felt something stir in him—it was a need to fight, a need to prove. Combined, the violin and the piano made him—feel _free_.

The song ended too soon. Instead of applause, there was silence. Seiji glanced around; Shuu had risen from his chair and approached the balcony ledge, transfixed on the duo. Shin was captivated, caught up in the music and lingering in its side effects. Touma and Ryo were both quiet. They were avoiding looking at the stage, but Seiji knew the two had felt what he had—the sense of freedom and strength.

And then the audience erupted into noise.

"Amazing," Usagi whispered, her eyes wide. She was wearing a gentle smile different from her goofy grin, and Seiji saw an unexpected grace in her movements as she shook her head. "They're amazing."

Rei agreed with her companion and, for the first time that night, she had soft eyes.

The duet was starting their next piece; to everyone's surprise, the queen invited a guest on stage. She stepped out of the spotlight and approached the lone microphone on the side of the stage, but all eyes were still on her as she glowed with her own light. She smiled—the room sighed.

"Aino Minako," the queen said, and something inside Seiji melted at her silky voice. "If you would please grace us with your presence in this next song."

And, to Seiji's surprise, the other blonde—the confident one who reminded him so much of himself—slipped from her friends and made her way up stage. She moved lightly, yet there was no doubt in her swift steps. She exchanged quick, polite greetings the king and queen before taking her place by the microphone. As a third spotlight flashed on, she grinned and said, "Good evening."

And then the queen starting tugging at her violin strings and the audience's heartstrings. The king swiftly joined in, his own notes reminiscent of the night sky and the cloudless sun. Seiji was thrown back to his first fight with a youja soldier—he could see clearly how Ryo had taken him down, but barely. There was hope in each of their eyes back then, but there was also worry—doubt—fear. And longing, desperate longing for light and peace.

The confident blonde took in a breath, closed her eyes, and sang. All of that faded away as Seiji drew in air sharply. This wasn't what he expected—she wasn't good. She was better than that. There were no words to describe what he felt—his feet no longer touched the ground, and he was sure the others beside him felt the same way. Her voice was beautiful, bringing him closer to his heart. _She_ was beautiful, with her poise and assuredness and graceful voice.

It was as if a family of royalty were on stage, Seiji realized. The queen, the king, and finally the princess. He tore his eyes away from the magnificent spectacle on stage, unwilling to let himself go. He could see Ryo was contemplating it. Shin was already lost—_had_ been lost since the first note the queen had played. Shuu was in the same boat, his eyes fixed on the trio. Touma wasn't watching them; he was looking instead at the audience, his eyes roaming over the auditorium.

Seiji looked at Usagi and saw, once again, an unexpected, unnatural elegance in his posture. She seemed to glow with a light that made him want to reach out and grab her. She was ethereal, with her long hair and fairy-like dress and crystal blue eyes that were so _happy_.

At her side, Rei was untouchable. Her own light was fierce, passionate, too hot for Seiji—and yet he felt compelled to get closer. He was drawn to the fire, the mystery. There were layers he couldn't decipher, puzzles he couldn't solve. She was withdrawn, yet standing next to Usagi, she was approachable to those with the right amount of passion.

Seiji just wasn't sure if he was ready to get burned yet.

x

The balcony was quiet as the performance ended. Shin let out a sigh, enthralled. He looked over to his fellow warriors, taken back at the two newcomers. He recognized the dark-haired one as one from the group Shuu had noticed, but the blonde girl was a complete stranger. She was lingering at the edge of the balcony, reluctant to take her eyes off the duo. As plain as she was, even though she was dressed in a fancy dress with a fancy hairdo, Shin felt something from her—there was some kind of strength. Something made him want to put his faith in the future in her.

Shaking aside the absurd thought, he smiled at Ryo. "What did you think?"

"It was pretty cool," his friend admitted. "More than I expected."

"That last act had everyone," Touma said quietly, his eyes still sweeping over the audience. "It was as if they put a spell over the audience."

"They put a spell over me for sure," Shin grinned. "If only we could _meet_ them."

"Yeah, and if we got you _those_ tickets, we wouldn't be living in houses," Ryo said good-naturedly. He leaned back against the balcony ledge, eyeing the blonde.

"Who are they?" Shin asked, seeing where his gaze was at. Ryo shrugged.

"Tsukino Usagi. Hino Rei. Seiji brought them here."

"Ah." Because that explained a lot of things. Seiji wasn't really a ladies man—it was more of like a lady killer. He didn't flaunt himself around at all (except for his sharp dressing, he did the exact opposite of flaunting), but he somehow always found himself at the center of every woman's heart. The four of them constantly made fun of Seiji and the attention he got—sometimes the blonde acted like he liked it (Shuu's great influence), but they all knew he resented it, due to some nutty kind of phobia he had with girls.

"I recognize Hino," Touma mused softly. At this, the other two focused their attention completely on him. "She was on TA's archery team in junior high. No one could beat her."

"Not even you?" Ryo teased, and Touma quelled him with a wry look.

"No," he said, "not even me. I heard she was supposed to compete in a national competition. She was favored for first place, but for some reason…"

"For some reason?" Shin goaded as Touma trailed off.

"For some reason, she just quit."

"Well," Ryo said, "that's… interesting."

Except it really wasn't. Maybe to Touma it was like a valuable piece of information, but Ryo and Shin couldn't really decipher its meaning. Shin himself had given up a lot of things from childhood to now—volleyball, for example. He had been on his own junior high school's volleyball team. Only Shuu knew of this; Shin didn't feel it was necessary to bring it up to the others.

Shin watched as Shuu struck up conversation with the blonde—Usagi. She was laughing hysterically at something he said, and Shuu was looking quite proud of himself. Shin, however, still couldn't shake off the feeling that there was something about her. It was an attraction, but not of the physical kind. She was pretty, yeah, but there was more to it than that. She seemed to radiate hope and faith and good things to come.

"Something about her, right?"

Always count on Touma to be insightful.

"Yeah," Ryo said, and he frowned. "I can't put a finger on it."

"Her presence," Touma said, "reminds me of Kaos."

Before anyone could say anything, the ground shook and the auditorium ceiling crashed on them. Shuu gathered Usagi in his arms and covered her as concrete pelted them. Usagi shrieked, trying to wriggle out of his grasp. "No, Shuu! Are you alright?"

Shuu simply grinned, though it was somewhat of a painful grin. "Don't worry about me. Are _you_ alright?"

Usagi's eyes watered. "You idiot, you could've been killed! What would I have done? Can't you see the headlines? 'Mysterious Boy Killed While Trying to Save Beautiful Girl from Crashing Ceiling.' My mom would _kill_ me if I made the news like that!"

Despite the situation, Shuu started laughing. He straightened up, brushing debris from his suit while sharing a look with Shin. It was only precautionary measures that he had worn his sub armor under all this funk; Ryo, surprisingly enough, had suggested it. At first they thought he was paranoid, but then they remembered last weeks' incident—some kind of otherworldly being had appeared and terrorized a local high school. It wasn't a youja soldier, and the Troopers didn't know what to make of it. As soon as they arrived on scene, though, the being had been taken care of by some local crime fighters.

Sailor Senshi, Jun had told them enthusiastically over the phone. Apparently these Senshi had taken a break, so their reappearance had everyone talking. Personally Shin thought it was too strange of a coincidence—monsters and crime fighters coming back at the same time? It was, if not suspicious, a bit sketchy.

"Hino," Touma said, helping her up. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," she grunted, swiping her hair from her eyes. She accepted his arm as support, stepping over fallen boards. All around them, people were scurrying for the entrance. The balcony ledge had been smashed out, but a row of fallen pillars had created some kind of makeshift walkway. Rei put one heel on the first pillar, getting a grip, before hoisting herself up. Seiji watched, intrigued.

"Hang on!" Ryo grabbed onto her arm. "Are you _crazy_? What are you doing?"

Rei frowned, but realized he was right. Still, she didn't step down. "Aren't you curious at all? Am I really supposed to believe that this was an accident? Something _crashed_ into this theater."

Ryo stared, and she took her chance to yank her arm out of his grasp. Steadying herself, Rei stepped forward at an alarmingly fast pace. Ryo blinked, snapped out of it, and followed right after her.

"Ryo!" Shin called, "Wait!"

The bearer of Rekka ignored this and continued to chase after her. Shin sighed, turning to Touma.

"What do we do now?"

"We get Tsukino-san out of here," Seiji said pointedly. The three of them glanced at Shuu, who was trying to take care of one of Usagi's cuts. He had taken off his jacket and draped it over her bare shoulders. The blonde looked up at her name; her eyes were weary as she glanced at the path of fallen pillars, but she nodded.

"Yeah, that's… that's best."

Shuu escorted her out, even going as far as to pick her up over wooden beams and large rocks. Shin sighed just as they were out of earshot. "Poor guy."

"Hmm?" Touma, who has been observing the damage, glanced back to Shin. "What was that?"

"She's married. Or engaged," Seiji flippantly remarked, picking up on Shin's train of thought. He leapt on top of the nearest pillar. "There was a ring on her finger."

"Is that important?" Touma followed his lead, jumping onto the makeshift path. He looked down it, watching both Rei and Ryo scurry to the top. Shin, for a moment, wondered how she did it—the heels she wore were sky high. Ryo had caught up to her easily, but instead of arguing, the two made their way to the hole in the ceiling. They disappeared through the opening.

"Well," Touma said casually, "let's go."

Together the three of them leapt through the maze of fallen architecture and through the open hole. What they saw at the top almost made Shin trip over himself.

A large youja soldier stood before them—it was gigantic, twice the size of a regular youja soldier. Behind it was a hole in the sky. It was unnatural, as if someone had taken their hands and ripped at air. Shin could see another world in it—it was dark, but there were voices chattering. Eyes watching.

He shivered, turning his attention back to the youja soldier. Standing in front of the youja soldier, in a stance he recognized from his old judo class, was the tall brunette they had seen earlier. Upon second glance of his surroundings, he realized that the whole group of girls was there—Rei, the brunette, the blonde that had been singing, and their blue-haired companion.

Ryo was still standing protectively in front of Rei, though Shin judged from her posture that she didn't need it. The blue-haired girl was watching the rip in the air behind the youja soldier, almost ignoring the youja soldier completely. The blonde was looking at the Troopers curiously; she eyed Seiji first before looking at Touma and Ryo. Her gaze finally fell on Shin, and, as he returned her look, she winked. Then her eyes were set back on the youja.

The brunette spoke up. "Who are you? What do you want?"

The youja soldier paused. Its eyes flashed red, and then it said, "Kino Makoto."

There was a quiet pause as the girls all dropped their defensive stances. They shared bewildered glances, the brunette shrugging that she didn't know what was going on either. There seemed to be a private conversation amongst the four—then the tall brunette turned back to the youja soldier.

"Er," she said, her hand scratching the back of her neck as she was abashed for some reason," are you—well, are you sure? I mean!" she quickly interjected as the soldier's eyes gleamed once more, "You're not looking for a blonde girl?"

The solider turned its lifeless gaze at the blonde present. Her face aghast, she flailed her hands in front of her. "No no no no no not me! We're talking about—you know, a blonde girl. With um." She curved her hands into balls and placed them on the top of her head. "What do you call these… Um."

"Odango," Rei contributed helpfully.

"Yeah!" Blondie held up a finger. "You're sure you're not looking for odango?"

The youja soldier grunted out again, "Kino Makoto."

At this the brunette sighed, dropping back into her judo stance. "Well, if you're so sure." And then, with the Troopers watching with wide eyes, she jumped into the air at the soldier. She pivoted at the last second, bring her foot (and it's dangerously high heel) around to knock off the soldier's helmet. It didn't come off; instead, the soldier grabbed her foot and swung her away.

"Makoto!" the blue-haired girl cried out as she flew into Touma. Grunting, Touma steadied his balance, catching her under the arms. She looked surprised, but shook her head.

"I'm fine, Ami!" Makoto grinned at Touma before saying energetically, "This could get really bad in more ways than I can count, so it'd be cool if you and your friends—well, you know. Left."

Then she turned and charged back at the youja soldier. Her fist aimed at its helmet; the soldier caught it with one hand and threw her off balance. Makoto brought her knee up, catching it under the arm. It stumbled back, letting go of its hold on her. She did a spin on her legs, getting it under the chin. The youja soldier rattled, and Makoto grinned again, regaining her footing.

She jumped in the air, charging at it once more, and her elbow made contact with its chest. It fell back with a hollow sound, turning into a crumpled pile of metal—Shin narrowed his eyes. Black smoke didn't rise from it. It wasn't dead yet. Just as he was about to shout a warning, Rei ducked under Ryo's arm. She sprinted at it, muttering something under her breath.

A thin strip of paper flew from her fingers and sealed itself on the youja soldier's helmet. At once black smoke hissed up, and the metal melted into nothing. Makoto offered Rei a grateful smile, who nodded in return. Then the four girls exchanged looks _again_.

"Pardon me," Seiji said sharply, but Ryo beat him to it. He had approached Rei again, grabbing her arm.

"Who _are_ you guys?"

**an** standard disclaimers apply.


	2. Chapter 2

**two**

"We," Makoto pronounced slowly, gesturing widely with her arms, "are."

Minako coughed, and Makoto's face twitched.

"The karate team," she finished, and everyone stared at her with blank faces, Senshi and Troopers alike. Indignant, and quite unaccustomed to unnecessary attention, she pinked a bit and started fiddling with her hands. "You know. Like fighting."

"Right," Seiji said flatly. "We got that."

"What karate team?" Yeah, Ryo wasn't buying this either. He was glaring at Rei, who was watching Ami. Ami was studying Shin curiously, her brow furrowed in deep thought—Shin in turn was trying to avoid the eye of Minako, who was giggling behind a hand as she winked at him once more. The blonde seemed to be the only one taking the situation lightly

Makoto smiled nervously, and she said in an unnaturally high voice, "Oh, you know. We fight in tournaments and stuff."

"No, we don't know," Ryo replied bitingly. Rei shifted her attention back to him, frowning at the tone of his voice. He met her gaze evenly.

"Juuban." Makoto swallowed, wishing that her fellow companions wouldn't look at her like she had grown an extra arm. She sucked at lying, yeah, but they could at least try to _help_. "Juuban High."

And Minako burst into raucous laughter. At Makoto's sudden slumping shoulders of defeat, she smacked a hand over her mouth. "Sorry," she managed to squeak out, "sorry. I just. Had an itch."

These girls, Seiji then decided, were weird as hell. The blonde was special in her own right, but the brunette must have hit her head on something _hard_ if she really thought that she could convince him that she, with those legs and those curves, was a high school student. Ryo, on the other hand, was getting more frustrated with each passing second—as much as he wanted to grab one of them and just shake really, really hard, he controlled himself and looked at Shin. The voice of reason.

Shin simply shrugged (helpfully, of course).

"Okay listen," Ryo said after that exchange. "Listen."

"I am," Ami said, and he stared at her a bit.

"Okay," he continued. "Well. I think it's pretty obvious that you're lying—"

"Way to go, Mako!" Minako interjected, and Makoto glared at her.

"—and that you guys are hiding something."

"Well," Rei said almost condescendingly, "obviously."

Ryo whipped his fierce gaze at her but before he could say anything, Touma spoke up.

"You're Sailor Senshi, right?"

There was a still silence in which all four girls seemed to freeze over. It only lasted about six seconds; as if on cue, Makoto and Minako started laughing. "A HA HA HA HA ISN'T THAT FUNNY GUYS? US AS THE SAILOR SENSHI HA HA HA."

"OH IF ONLY I WERE AS BEAUTIFUL AS SAILOR VENUS HA HA HA HA HA," Minako added. At this, Rei rolled her eyes.

They didn't make _any_ kind of sense at _all_ to Shin, but he was smiling at them nonetheless. They were amusing—as odd and quirky as they were, they had a special kind of bond to them that he knew was rare amongst friends. He could see it. It reminded him, actually, of himself and the Troopers.

"Excuse me," a cool voice interrupted, "but there's just been an earthquake and you are not permitted up here."

Nine heads turned to the stairway (the practical way of getting up there) and Seiji was surprised to see the queen and a dark-haired girl standing there. The queen—no, Kai'ou Michiru was what the program said—looked stern. Cold, almost. There was no warmth there—just a woman. An ice queen, if he really wanted to keep calling her that.

"Oh my gosh!" the girl at her side suddenly interjected, pointing, "you guys are the Juuban karate team huh? You really kicked ass at the last tournament!"

Makoto stared at her. And then, at Minako's nudge, she nodded slowly. "Uh. Yeah... Yeah, I guess we did huh?"

Rei smacked her forehead with her hand and Ami sighed, shaking her head.

Seiji, on the other hand, felt a headache coming on.

x

"That's the thing, though," Ami said, "why would they want you, Makoto?"

A pensive silence fell among the three girls present. Minako was idly playing with the cherry in her drink, but her eyes were blankly staring at the menu. Why _would_ they want Makoto? It had always been Usagi—none of them had ever been _really_ targeted before. Incidents with dream mirrors and heart crystals didn't technically count; they had been targeted as civilians.

Makoto sighed, leaning forward to sip at her smoothie. "No idea," she finally concluded. "I mean, I'm pretty _sure_ I didn't instigate anything."

"You don't piss people off, Mako, Rei does." Minako slumped in the booth, grinning. Mako matched her expression.

"Good point."

"Where is she anyway?"

"She had a meeting," Ami said, flipping through the menu. "Her father or something."

"Him again?" Minako frowned, trying to balance the cherry on her straw. Within the last three months, Rei's father had started contacting her again. It was then that the rest of them learned of her connection to the prominent politician. It was no secret that Rei would rather choke on Usagi's foot than go and see her father, but her grandfather—her lovely, kind, perverted grandfather with one of the wisest minds any of them knew—had urged her to see him.

Lately the meetings had been more frequent, and it bothered Minako.

"I think I want a parfait," Ami decided, and she went to the counter to order. Makoto watched as Unazuki greeted her loudly and Motoki rang up her order. She leaned back in her chair—Ami herself had changed throughout the years. Medical school prep was tough on her; it was hard enough to decline down scholarships that would take her away from Tokyo. But juggling that and being a tutor after her classes made it almost rare to see her during the weekdays. With responsibility, though, came a grace that everyone knew Ami hid in her teenage years.

Ami was older, and her age was followed by a beauty that most women wished they possessed.

"And those guys—" she started to say when she sat back down, but at once the blonde bounced up.

"OHMYGOSH," Minako gushed immediately, and she looked pointedly at Makoto. "Did you see him?"

"See who?" Makoto checked over her shoulder, confused, but Minako shook her head.

"The cute one! With the smile and the hair! He was _so_ shy but it was _so _adorable!"

The other two girls sighed in unison. "Minako," Makoto started, but the blonde wasn't finished yet.

"I kept winking at him and he kept giving me this little smile and I just oh my gosh if I were the mother of that boy I would never trust any girl he brings home. He was too cute!"

"_Minako_," Makoto said again, and the blonde beamed at her.

"Yes, Mako?"

"They knew who we were."

"Oh." Minako fiddled with the cherry again. "Well, I suppose. Although I'm pretty sure it was just a speculation. Not something he really believed."

"We were lucky Michiru and Hotaru came to find us," Ami commented. She dipped a spoon into her parfait. "They must have been listening the whole time."

"Mmm," Makoto agreed. They were lucky indeed; Michiru had escorted them all back into the theater and out of its proper exit. There had been a large crowd gathered, and at her single, pointed look, the girls all parted ways and dashed off. Michiru then charmed the boys with apologies to her cold behavior—it was just that her mother had partly owned the theater and it pained her greatly to see any damage done, and finding a group of people laughing and joking at the site of the damage unnerved her.

They believed her and appeared to forget about the girls.

"What about that rip? Didn't you see it?"

"In the sky?" Ami could remember the rip all too well. It had pulled at her, beckoned her close. It was unnatural and man-made and she only wished she knew what was on the other side. "Michiru said Haruka will take care of it."

"And the one Usagi was with—?"

"She said he was nice."

Their conversation died once again, and Makoto was left to wonder—why did they want _her_?

x

Ryo waited patiently outside of the flower shop as Jun made his purchase. It was kind of cute, he mused. Jun had a girl on his eye. Sure, Jun was buying her flowers and showering her with candy when everyone was almost positive that the girl didn't know his name. But at least he was trying.

Everyone was trying, Ryo thought, and he smiled easily as Jun exited out of the doors.

"Ne, Ryo," he said with a troubled look on his face, "do you have a vase I can put these in until I give them to—her?"

Ryo noted that the teenager was keen to avoid saying her name. The other Troopers had been trying to pry for more information on her—how old was she? Was she rich? Was she _cute_? Jun, however, had batted these questions away with a blush and a fist, grumbling that it was his own business and of _course_ she was cute, he _liked_ her after all and he wouldn't like an ugly broad.

(And then Nasuti smacked him over the head for saying that.)

"Yeah, sure, Seiji's probably got something."

"It's still so _weird_ you guys are roommates." Jun shifted his grip on his flowers as he opened the door to Ryo's car. "I'd put money on you and Shuu rooming, but not you and Seiji."

Ryo shrugged. "It just kinda happened." Which was actually the truth. Touma preferred to live by himself, and Shin and Shuu couldn't be separated. Ryo probably could have lived in a single apartment, but he knew it'd be easier on the rent if it was split. Seiji therefore offered to be roommates. "It's not that bad."

Jun, however, had stopped walking. His mouth fell open, and for a second he looked transfixed. Then he squeaked and tried to hide his face behind the flowers. "Oh no oh no oh my gosh how embarrassing!"

Ryo glanced in the direction of where Jun had been staring at found himself looking at two high school girls walking towards their direction. They were obviously from different schools; the shorter one had on a red uniform similar to Jun's while the one with dark hair was from a more prestigious school. Upon second glance, he realized the dark haired girl was slightly familiar—where had he seen her?

"Oh," the short one said as she saw the flustered Jun. "It's you."

"H-hey," Jun choked out. "What's—up?"

"Not much," she said coolly. "Are those flowers?"

"Yeah. Do—do you want them?"

The girl turned as pink as her hair and she suddenly dropped her gaze. Her cool demeanor dropped in an instant. "Well, I—yeah, sure. I—I mean! If you're not... you know, giving them to... someone else."

"Oh no! No no no these are for you!" Jun thrust them in her arms, and her face reddened even more. Her companion, who had stepped off to the side, giggled softly.

"They're gross, aren't they?" she remarked to Ryo, and Ryo smiled.

"So that's her?" He took in her appearance—her hair was a bit weird, yeah, but she was cute. A little skinny, a little short, but her face could probably break hearts if she wanted to. Hopefully Jun was fortunate enough to never have that happen to him.

"How are you, Sanada?"

Ryo stared back at the curious violet eyes. It was then he remembered who she was. "You're—Tomoe, right? You were with Kai'ou yesterday."

"Yes, that's me."

"I had no idea you knew Jun!"

"I had no idea _you_ knew him," she countered peacefully, and he had to laugh.

"This," he said, "is the smallest world."

"You have no idea."

And before he could ask her what she meant, and why she sounded so cryptic, Jun's pink-haired crush pushed the teenager aside. He fell harshly to the ground; in his spot was a large hole in the ground. Jun stared blankly at where he once stood. The girl was looking around wildly, at a loss for words.

"Chibiusa!" Hotaru made to move forward, but Ryo beat her to it. In one smooth motion, he scooped the girl into his arms and motioned Jun to follow.

"I've got to get you guys out of here."

"Wh-what? No! Put me down!" Chibiusa struggled in his arms, but he refused to relent. "I have to go!"

"No, it's not safe there!"

"What about Tomoe?" Jun choked out, and Ryo stopped to turn around. Already the area was becoming infested with youja soldiers. His eyes searched until he found the source—a large, gaping rip in the sky. And currently Hotaru was standing right under it, eyes wide as youja soldiers piled out of it.

Cursing under his breath, he handed the girl over to Jun before darting right back into the battlefield. Hotaru avoided a narrow blow; she leapt to the side just as a youja soldier crashed right where she had been standing. Picking herself up, she fought her way between the mass of bulking armor.

And, as wrong as it sounded, all Ryo could do was stand there and watch. It was almost like watching a dance. She was moving so fluidly; every step she took seemed deliberate. He realized, after a moment, that she wasn't even _touching_ them—they were trying to attack her, but she avoided every chain and sickle effortlessly.

"Yamano, let me go!" Chibiusa was struggling against his grip, but Jun shook his head.

"No! You could get hurt!"

"_Hotaru_ could get hurt!"

"She's not important to me, Tsukino; you are!"

The confession barely picked up on Ryo's ears and, despite himself, he smirked. He could hear the silence behind him, hear the tension being awkwardly cut as Tsukino Chibiusa simply ran away from Jun and into the arms of a youja soldier.

"Get away!" she shrieked, and she somehow she slipped from its grasp and knocked off its helmet. She ducked under a swinging leg and grabbed it—and with an almighty (and frighteningly unnatural) force, she swung the youja soldier around and threw it back to its companions. And then, panting heavily, the pink-haired teenager drew back her arm and punched a fallen youja soldier in the chest.

"WHO'S NEXT?"

"Oh my gosh, Chibiusa, you're a beast!" A young woman skidded to a stop right by Ryo, gaping at what the teenager had done. She was clad in an orange skirt that left little to the imagination (Ryo blushed just looking at her), complete with gloves, heels and a sailor collar. "What in the world is going on?"

"Venus!" Chibiusa pumped her hands in the air, grinning like a maniac. "I'm powered by LOVE!"

At this, the orange girl slapped her hands to her cheeks, gasping. "No way! Oh my gosh really Chibiusa? I'm so happy for you! Who's the lucky guy?"

Chibiusa brushed off imaginary dust from her shoulders. "Wellllllll, if you must knowwwww," she drawled, looking sideways at her, "he's standing right behind you."

And there was Jun, staring at the orange woman with big eyes. "S-s-s-s."

"He's kinda weird," she said thoughtfully.

"Sailor Venus!"

"But he knows my name. I approve!" Grinning, Sailor Venus spun back around. She held up a finger, and it seemed to charge with a light. "Crescent beam!" The light flew from her finger and attacked a group of youja soldiers. They all clanked uselessly against each other, before toppling and falling.

Ryo was beyond confused. Sailor Venus was fighting the youja soldiers back-to-back with Jun's psycho girlfriend. And Tomoe—she was still avoiding attacks, still weaving in and out. He watched as she ducked and stepped sideways and slid under legs and finally jumped. High. Into the air. When it looked like she was falling, she used a youja soldier's head to propel her higher.

Hotaru reached up into the rip, grabbed the top of it, and let gravity take over. Ryo didn't know what he was seeing—the rip had sealed itself shut, she was falling, right into a sea of soldiers with swords and spears and red, glowing eyes. He didn't know what possessed him to do so, but in an instant he was right there, and she fell into his arms, staring widely into his eyes.

"Thank you," she breathed, he couldn't do anything but nod. Then, tensing, he spun around and aimed a kick at the nearest youja soldier. It clanged backwards and knocked down a few of its companions. He was briefly aware of Sailor Venus eyeing him appreciatively (her gaze sent shivers down his spine; it was almost like she was a predator and he was her prey). Tomoe squirmed a bit in his arms; he adjusted his grip, refusing to let her down.

"That," Ryo said, slightly scolding, "was dumb."

The girl kept silent, looking away from him. He ducked a chain and grabbed the sickle of its end, yanking the youja soldier towards them. Then, at the last moment, he stuck out a foot and pushed. Metal collided with more metal. Hotaru looked uneasy.

"Just who are you?" Ryo finally asked, setting her down but not letting go of her arm. She looked at him, and he looked back. And then, with utmost precision, she propelled herself over him (he let go of her, realizing he would twist her arm if he didn't) and landed on a youja soldier just behind him. It collided with the pavement, and Hotaru's foot penetrated its chest. A wisp of black smoke hissed through the air.

"I am Tomoe Hotaru," she said simply, and she smiled at him. It was then more sailor-collared and short-skirted girls appeared—instead of orange, though, they were blue and green.

"Geez, Venus, we didn't _really_ mean it when we said, 'last one there is a rotten egg.'"

"Yeah, whatever!" Sailor Venus called back, punching a youja soldier in the face and blasting another with her golden finger. "You're the one that smells now, Jupiter!"

The tall, green-clad woman sighed, massaging her temple. Ryo heard her mutter to herself under her breath, "Stay calm, Jupiter. Stay calm. You do not smell. You showered today."

The shorter one beside her, with the blue outfit, had gathered a mass of—_something_ in her hands. And then she let it loose, and Ryo watched with an open mouth and wide eyes as water—_water_—froze a mass of youja soldiers. The green one (Sailor Jupiter, he presumed), then cupped her hands together and pitched out a volley of lightning. The rest of the youja soldiers crumpled in a heap, fading into smoke and dust.

These girls were weird. They were quite unlike the Troopers in that they didn't use weapons to channel their powers—it was almost like magic.

Sailor Venus regrouped with her fellow warriors, the pink-haired squirt under her arm. "Hey guys! Glad to see you made it!"

Sailor Jupiter stared at her, hard. The blonde's smile didn't waver as she dropped Chibi-Usa right on the ground. The teenager grumbled something about 'power of love up your ass you orange freak,' but Sailor Venus heard none of it.

"So," she said, "who picks up the Fruit Parlor tab?"

Sailor Jupiter hung her head, unable to fight it off any longer. "Yeah, yeah, I got it, don't worry..."

"Excuse me," Ryo interrupted, and they noticed him for the first time. Sailor Jupiter's eyes widened considerably, and she nudged the short one.

"Mercury," she whispered, although audibly, "that's—!"

"He knows Chibiusa's boyfriend!" Sailor Venus suddenly blurted out, and all at once they turned to stare at Jun.

Jun almost cried at the title.

"Well!" Sailor Venus said diplomatically to Ryo, "thanks for the help. But it's our job, as _warriors_ of _love_ and _justice_, to take care of evil. Please don't feel like it's your responsibility. We're eighteen now. That's old enough for responsibility."

Sailor Mercury sighed, took Sailor Venus by the arm, and led her away. Sailor Jupiter started for a moment (she had been ticking things off with her fingers, and Ryo could hear her say, "...parfait, smoothie, she had three... damn.") before following after her companions.

Looking around, Ryo realized he was left with Jun, Jun's girlfriend, and a torn-up street. Tomoe had simply disappeared.

x

"That," Minako emphasized, "was really zany."

"He's at the scene of every occurrence," Ami mumbled, more to herself than anything. "It _could_ be coincidence. I remember when Osaka Naru happened to be everywhere we were."

Makoto paused, remembering Naru. She'd been introduced to them as Usagi's best friend, but as time went on, they saw less and less of Naru. Briefly she wondered if Usagi still kept contact—but then, realizing that Usagi was always sleeping, eating, or spending quality time with the Senshi, a small bubble of guilt formed in her stomach. Had they taken Usagi away from Naru?

"I don't know," Makoto reasoned slowly. "Naru was there because she was Usagi's friend. This guy's a complete stranger."

"He's cute," Minako supplied.

"Yeah," Makoto agreed enthusiastically. "More cuter than yesterday when he was all mad and '_who are you blah blah blah_.'"

"Should we worry about him?"

Ami shook her head. "No, not yet. He means well, I think." The trio fell into silence, before Ami spoke up again. "They weren't after you, Mako."

"Oh?"

Both pairs of eyes peered at her curiously, and Ami fought off a blush. "Well—they attacked an area you were nowhere near. If they were targeting just you, they would have attacked Crown Fruit Parlor."

"Right," Minako said, and a frown suddenly graced her features. "Do you think Usagi's in danger?"

Ami glanced at her, pondering the question. "What do you mean, Minako?" Because their princess was always in danger—always.

"Last time they wanted Mako-chan. I'm pretty sure they were after Chibi-Usa just now." Minako ran her fingers through her hair—her shorter, choppier hair. In a rush to stand out from other contestants in a random idol contest, she had gone to the salon and told the hair stylist to 'do something like they do in London.' The result came to just past her shoulders, with lots of messy layers (she still kept the bow, as ridiculous it looked with the new style). Minako didn't regret it—sure, the long locks she was practically infamous for were gone, but it was more manageable. Cuter, too. And no one mistook her for Usagi anymore.

"But if they're after Sailor Senshi, then what does Usagi...?" Makoto trailed off, shrugging her confusion. Ami smiled wryly, comprehending Minako's train of thought.

"If we're gone, who's left to protect her?"

* * *

**an** this was done actually awhile ago, but i got lazy to post :x enjoy!


	3. Chapter 3

**three**

Rei stepped out of the elevator and into a mess. She stared, for a moment, at the security guards trying—_trying_—to restrain the young man at the front desk. There were at least four of them, grabbing his bag and his arms and even his leg, attempting to drag him backwards. He simply ignored them all, continuing to gesture wildly at the secretary.

"I only want a couple of books!" Hashiba Touma declared angrily, and Rei didn't hesitate.

"Excuse me," she said flatly, "what's the problem here?"

The security guard nearest her straightened his tie, but Touma ignored her.

"Our apologies, ma'am, but we're dealing with him right away. Please don't let us disturb you."

"I didn't ask for apologies. What's the problem?"

The guard looked unsure, and he glanced at the other three for backup. And then, hesitantly, he said, "This young man here tried to get into the private library and refused to leave when we asked him to."

It was then Touma glanced her way, and he looked a bit abashed. "Oh," he said. And then, a little awkwardly, he added, "Hi."

Rei stared at him for a moment. And then she stared at the guards. Then her gaze averted to the secretary, who was trying _so_ very hard not to look intimidated. "Give him an all access pass to the libraries within the building."

"But, ma'am—"

"Under my father's name," Rei emphasized, and the secretary bobbed her head up and down.

"Yes, right away."

And it was seven minutes later that Rei was sitting in the parliament building's private library, watching Touma inhale knowledge from forgotten tales in dusty books. He was not a stranger to her, even before they had met at Michiru and Haruka's recital—she recognized him from the gossip her old archery team would giggle over. Hashiba Touma—resident genius, and master archer. Rei had never faced him in any competition back then, and she'd always wondered—what would have happened if she had?

"The Hikawa Jinja is harboring a god," Touma suddenly said, and the smile that was brought onto his face clashed with Rei's drawn eyebrows. She was starting to regret already helping him. It's all for the plan, she told herself—all for Minako's dumb plan of gathering information from them by acting friendly and natural and _not_ suspicious, even though Makoto had already ruined that for them.

"Excuse me?" she chose to ask politely.

"I'm sure you know of Susanoo—and the Kusanagi no Tsurugi, the legendary sword, right? I was just looking over these myths—the elderly couple bestowed the sword onto Susanoo—"

"They're not myths," Rei said flatly, and she leaned over to look at the worn book he held. "It's religion. Does that book say that?"

Touma was looking at her then, curiosity piqued. Rei had a flash of déjà-vu; the expression he had on was eerily similar to Ami when she was contemplating a new theory. Used to the ice senshi's rather exuberant experiments, Rei didn't back down. She glared at the book, singeing it with her eyes.

"This is all wrong. Susanoo—the god of storms, as you know—was banished from Heaven for driving Amaterasu—his sister, the sun goddess—into a cave. So he went down to the Earth and found an upset elderly couple. They told him that their daughters were eaten by a large serpent, and their youngest daughter was next. Susanoo killed the beast, and from its tail came the grass-cutting sword—the Kusanagi no Tsurugi."

Touma nodded, absorbing every detail of her brief lesson. "So then if this book is wrong, then Hikawa Jinja and all of its children shrines do not attract Susanoo?"

Rei paused a bit, reflecting back to her own shrine. It was nowhere near as famous as _the_ Hikawa shrine in Saitama; regardless, she'd heard from tourists that each Hikawa shrine was a place for the storm god to dwell. She didn't fuel the rumors, but she didn't exactly dismiss them, either—her stance on Shinto was delicate, if not wavering. She partly put the blame on her role as senshi; dying and being reborn had sobered her faith a great deal.

"That isn't true," she said slowly, and left it at that. "Why are you so interested?"

One look at his face and she knew she'd asked the wrong question. Again, she found herself comparing him to Ami; he looked as if he'd won the lottery and had the chance to buy whatever library he wanted.

"Don't tell me this doesn't interest you? Just knowing the tale by heart is impressive. I wasn't brought up strictly religious, so studying this and finding this out is like a gold mine. I can't believe I lost my card to the public library. I thought I could borrow books from here, but they're really strict."

Rei stared. "Can you not speak so fas—"

"The other day, I stumbled on information on the Imperial Regalia—the sword, the mirror and the jewel. It's probably common knowledge to everyone else, but you know they say the sword is in Atsuta shrine, in—in—"

"Nagoya," Rei supplied, somehow following his train of thought. He nodded earnestly.

"Yes, in Nagoya. But do you really believe it? How can a legendary sword just sit in a shrine? Don't you think people would become workers at the shrine in an attempt to steal it? Even more, is it not sketchy that the shrine keepers refuse to show it?"

She made a sound of agreement, though she could not understand in the slightlest why this was relevant.

"I'm researching where the Imperial Regalia can _really_ be."

"Why?"

"Because," he said, "I'm interested. Aren't you?"

Rei couldn't say no, so she didn't. She simply smiled at him, and he returned it almost shyly before moving onto the next book. Rei watched him, but her thoughts were elsewhere. When she had first seen the talismans of the Outer Senshi, she _had_ been curious. Uranus's sword, Neptune's mirror, Pluto's orb. They were nothing like what she imagined the Imperial Regalia to be (Uranus's space sword was much shorter, and Neptune's deep aqua mirror was handheld—she couldn't say anything about the garnet orb, though), but her suspicions never died away.

And Hashiba Touma, former menace of the Osaka archery team, was revitalizing her curiosity.

She made a note to stop by the Ten'ou apartment later that week.

x

"She took the bait?" Shuu asked when Touma met up with him later at a flower shop. He handed a grumpy-looking florist a bouquet of carnations. "Thanks, I'll take these."

"Yeah, oddly enough," Touma said, shrugging. "Don't ever make me do that again, though."

"Oh come on, don't be such a rock!" Shuu rolled his eyes. "You and Seiji are a bunch of old men, I swear."

Touma gave him a sullen stare, intent on changing the subject. "Shin said he couldn't make it to Jun's festival tonight?"

"Unlike you, Shin is a very social guy. Apparently he has a date," Shuu said pointedly, eyebrows raised. He walked to the register, wallet and card already out, ready for the bill. "I think he said he could make it, he's just going to be late. I can't believe she believed you, man, even I wouldn't!"

"You're doubting my acting skills?" Touma asked flatly.

"No, I'm doubting the fact that you told her that the only book on religion around here is in her dad's public library." Shuu snorted. "Okay, yeah, and I'm a cow."

"Well—"

"Shut it." Shuu thanked the florist taking the carnations back. "You think these are okay?"

Touma squinted at the flowers as they made their way out of the shop. "For Nasuti, right?"

"Yeah. It's not like I'm admitting it's my fault, either!" Shuu quickly protested, seeing the smug look on Touma's face. "In fact, Seiji should be here buying these flowers, right? He was the one who provoked me into knocking over her fine china—"

Touma rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say."

The two fell quiet on their walk back to the parking garage. Briefly Shuu wondered about Shin's special little date; sure, Shin was a complete gentleman, but that was exactly it. He was too polite to do something so forward such as ask a lady out on a date.

This led Shuu to the conclusion that Shin was absolutely lying. But then again, following the same logic that Shin was such a nice guy, that wasn't possible. Shin didn't _lie_.

So maybe he was being _coerced_ into the date.

"Poor guy," Shuu said, although he really wasn't that much sympathetic. Honestly, the last time Shuu had been on a date was _months_ ago.

Touma blinked, his thoughts entirely on the box of donuts he had left on his kitchen counter. "What was that?"

"Nothing." Shuu sighed as he noticed they were in the busier part of the suburbs, with shops littering the sidewalk. "We should get something to snack on…"

"We have dinner in an hour," Touma pointed out reluctantly. Be strong, he told himself, trying to push away the mental image of a glazed donut—but then he took in a big whiff of the smell coming from the bakery they just passed. "Oh, but if you're really that hungry, Shuu…"

"Don't blame it on me if you puke after dinner!" Shuu cackled as he backtracked and yanked open the door to the bakery. At once the smell of pastries filled him. "Oh my god it's heaven in here!"

"That's what I'm saying!" came a voice to their left. The two of them whirled around to see Tsukino Usagi armed with three bags full of boxes.

"Hi, Shuu! And Hashiba, was it?"

"Touma's fine." Touma didn't want to admit it, but she looked absolutely cuter without the big gigantic dress from the recital. She beamed at them as Shuu openly stared at her purchases.

"Did you guys come to get some sweets, too?"

Shuu lifted his eyes from the bags of pastries back to Usagi. "Yeah, a little snack before dinner."

Usagi seemed to light up. "Really? Oh I _knew_ we were going to be great friends!" she gushed, clasping her hands together. The bags bumped against each other; Touma thought they were going to rip any second. "See I always like to get a little pastry before dinner, you know, satisfy the tummy before the tummy gets satisfied, but everyone's always telling me that it's not healthy, that I'm going to get sick, but that hasn't happened yet, so I figured I'm safe."

Touma nodded dumbly at the words that sped out of her mouth. Shuu barely followed along. "No, that's exactly what my stomach agrees with. So, Usagi, what's good here?"

"_Everything_," Usagi whispered dramatically, her eyes widening.

"Is that why you have three bags?" Touma asked. Usagi blinked, looking at the bags in her hands. She looked a bit abashed, laughing.

"Ah, yeah, I get carried away sometimes."

"Try all the time." A tall young man, previously at the counter, had approached them. He grinned fondly at Usagi, who pouted back at him.

"Whatever, it's not like you're complaining when you try to sneak a bite!"

"That's true, I don't complain at all." He easily took the bags from Usagi's hands as he turned his easy grin to Touma and Shuu. "Chiba Mamoru."

"Oh, how rude of me," Usagi said, rapping a knuckle against her own head. "Mamo-chan, this is Hashiba Touma. And Fang Shuu-rei, he's the one that saved me at the recital—"

A look of surprise crossed Mamoru's face. It was quickly replaced with gratitude. "I can't thank you enough," he started to say, but Shuu cut him off.

"It was no big deal, really. Anyone else would have done the same."

"Aw, Shuu, it's so unlike you to be so modest," Touma teased. Shuu would have given him the middle finger had Usagi not been present.

"Either way, I would've been squashed flat without you, how ridiculous would have that been? Oh!" Usagi's eyes had caught sight of the clock hanging on the wall. "Oh shoot, Mamo-chan, the reservations—"

"Already called ahead," Mamoru murmured, shaking his head. "Although I'm pretty sure the restaurant had expected it, with the way we _always_ call in that we're late—"

"Not my fault!" Usagi stuck her tongue out and punched him in the arm. He was very much unfazed . "Anyway Shuu, Touma, I should treat you sometime for saving my life."

Shuu looked flustered. "I didn't do anythi—"

"You shouldn't refuse," Mamoru piped up. "She doesn't offer very often—"

"Mamo-chan!" Usagi whined, punching him again. Touma wondered briefly if the situation would have been much funnier if Usagi lifted weights. "You make me seem like some kind of leech—"

"Aren't you?" Mamoru lifted the bags of pastries. Usagi puffed out her cheeks.

"You know, I didn't _ask_ you to pay—"

"Yes you did."

"Well you didn't have to _actually_ pay—"

"Didn't you promise I could have some odango later if I paid?"

Shuu and Touma didn't really get it. Usagi, however, blushed a bright red. "M—mamo-chan!"

Mamoru chuckled, reveling in her embarrassment. He nudged her as she patted her cheeks, trying to calm down. "We should get going."

"Right, right." Usagi cleared her throat, turning her charming smile back to Shuu. Shuu's own grin was very much forced. "You still have my number, right? I'll text you later. I won't forget, promise!"

"I'm telling you it was nothing, but if you insist—"

"I insist," Usagi sang. She bid them both a farewell, wrapping one arm around Mamoru's. Touma watched them exit the bakery with raised eyebrows.

"She's very—your type."

"My type," Shuu repeated faintly. His lips puckered up in thought. Other than having a cute face, Usagi was endearing. They had exchanged numbers after the recital, but Shuu had instantly gotten the impression that she had no other intentions than to be friends. He therefore hadn't really had much hope in being more than that. Still, of all the pretty girls to be taken...

"What a shame," Touma said, not at all feeling remorseful. Usagi was far from _his_ own ideal girl. He pointed at the bakery stand. "Buy me a bun?"

"Sure thing, _leech_."

Touma rolled his eyes, but he didn't bother to refute the statement.

x

Nasuti hated the flowers.

Shuu couldn't tell, but Seiji saw the look on her face when she had received them. It was the look he got whenever Ryo offered to cook dinner, or the look everyone else got when Shin got behind the wheel. In other words, Nasuti's face read to the rest of them, "Thank you for your kindness but you really, honestly, just shouldn't have."

He saw her pitch them in the trash can right before they left.

"Earth to _Seiji_," Shuu said, shoving a skewer of fish balls under his face. "Are you daydreaming or just staring at your hair?"

"Shut up," Seiji said, taking the skewer. He raised an eyebrow, looking pointedly at Shuu's shoulder. "You have a spot on—"

"Aw _shoot_!" Shuu tried wiping off the stain in his navy yukata. It only smeared. "Oops, sorry Touma—"

Touma sighed, having (very hesitantly) let Shuu borrow the clothes from him. They were all gathered at Jun's school's night festival; at first they had planned to wear casual clothes, but Nasuti had mentioned wistfully that in her childhood in France, she never had the opportunity to wear any traditional clothing. This led to Shuu saying he didn't have any traditional clothes, which led to Ryo suggesting that Touma let him borrow something, which led to Touma mentally devising up schemes to make the bearer of Rekka's life absolutely horrible. "It's fine, I suppose I should have expected it."

"Hey, rude!" Shuu pretended to look offended before he realized no one cared. "So, anyway, like I was saying, do we confront them now or should we just wait?"

"Confront who?" Seiji looked utterly confused. Ryo gave him an almost annoyed glance.

"I was just saying that two of the girls are working at the booth we got the food from."

"Oh, the Sailor Senshi?" Seiji blinked before taking a bite from his skewer. "Oh, this is actually really good—"

"We're not sure they're the Sailor Senshi," Nasuti pointed out. She took a break from scanning the crowd for Jun and made eye contact with Seiji. "At least, not yet."

And it was one of those incredibly odd moments where Seiji wondered why he and Nasuti were not dating. It was unexplainable, the way he sometimes innately felt that she was just _it_. He looked away after a moment, feeling that her smile was too kind. "We should wait to see what else they can do."

"Guess so," Shuu eventually said. He took another skewer off the plate he held. "They're so weird, though, they started laughing hysterically when they saw us."

"It was probably that stain on your shoulder," Ryo commented, to which Shuu snatched back the skewer he had offered. "Aw come on, I was just kidding!"

"Found him!" Nasuti suddenly declared, motioning over to a nearby booth that said Palm Analysis. The four of them looked over to see Jun leaning against the booth, easily playing the role of an awkward teenager. He was chatting three older women who seemed completely uninterested in what he was selling; judging from the way he was moving his hands, he was trying to get them to buy really big balls.

"What a dud," Touma said as the three women patted his head and walked away. Jun looked ruffled as he tried to fix his hair.

"Where's his girlfriend?" Shuu asked, finishing the rest of the skewers. He gave the plate to Seiji, who tossed it into the nearest trash can.

"Don't see her," Ryo said, glancing around. As soon as he had told the rest that he had met (and battled youja with) Jun's little girlfriend, they had all pestered him with questions. Was she up to standards, did Jun make her up, what did she _really_ look like? He answered them all as best as he could, but he figured—the sooner they met her, the less annoyed he would be with them.

"Well, let's just go see Romeo himself, then!"

Seiji led the way, grinning when Jun's eyes lit up as he spotted them. Jun hurried to them, unable to contain his excitement.

"You guys made it!" Jun exclaimed, slapping high fives with Seiji. "Oh, where's Shin?"

"He's coming later," Nasuti said. She peered at the booth's sign curiously. "What's this Palm Analysis?"

"Oh we have a palm reader here," Jun said, making the hand movements again. Oh, Ryo thought. So it wasn't really big balls he was selling, just palm analysis. "I'm supposed to be working it, but it hasn't been really busy. Everyone wants to go to the fortune teller instead, there's a really hot chick there, I was checking her ass out earlier—ow, Nasuti!"

"You had that coming," Seiji said, watching as Nasuti yanked on Jun's ear.

"Hot chick, you say?" Shuu wiggled his eyebrows up and down, but he took a step back when Nasuti turned her glare onto him. "Just kidding!"

"Boys, I swear!" Nasuti huffed, crossing her arms as Touma and Ryo both agreed (all the while discreetly tried to scan the tents for the fortune telling sign).

"Yamano—Jun?"

Seiji watched as Jun choked on his words and turned the brightest red. He pivoted, with Nasuti's hand still on his ear, and raised an arm robotically. "Y—yo."

The group stared at the girl with the pink curls and matching yukata. As soon as Jun had turned to her, a nervous smile twitched onto her lips. Her hands were clenched tightly at her sides as she stumbled over a greeting. "H—hey."

They stared at each other, not saying anything else. Ryo nudged both Seiji and Shuu, giving the girl a pointed look. "That's the one," he mouthed.

"How the hell did Jun score a girl like her?" Shuu hissed as quietly as he could.

"I am wondering the exact same thing," Touma mumbled.

"This is painful to watch," Seiji commented as Jun cleared his throat for the fifth time.

"I don't like her," Nasuti said plainly, causing everyone to reel back and stare at her in shock. Nasuti seemed a bit flustered. "What?"

"Nasuti, you like _everyone_," Touma said as Ryo bobbed his head up and down in agreement.

Before Nasuti could respond, however, Jun awkwardly reached forward and grabbed his girlfriend's hand. She squeaked a little, turning her gaze to her feet. "Um, Chibiusa—you've met Ryo-niichan, but that's Seiji, Touma, Shuu, and that's Nasuti-neechan. Everyone, this is Tsukino Chibiusa."

And, as if she purposely wanted all of their hearts to surrender to her, she bowed to them, her hands at her sides and her tone respectful. "It is an honor to finally meet you, Ya—Jun has spoken very highly of you all."

"How the hell did Jun score a girl like her?!" Shuu repeated, entirely bewildered. "She's cute, she has manners—"

"And she turned Nasuti's five seconds of dislike into sudden endearment," Seiji pointed out. The four of them watched as Nasuti snatched Chibiusa's hand away from Jun's.

"How very polite of you! Could you show me how this palm analysis works? Jun couldn't quite explain it to me very well—"

"Sure!" Chibiusa's nerves seemed to fade away in the presence of the older woman. "He's dense like that, isn't he?"

"Oh, you've noticed?"

The two of them giggled together, ignoring Jun as he weakly tried to interrupt. Ryo patted him on the back consolingly.

Chibiusa led Nasuti right to the front of the booth. The two seemed to be all sparkles and glitter as Chibiusa placed a bill onto the counter.

"Oh no, Chibiusa, let oneechan pay for _you_—"

"I can't let you do that!" Chibiusa exclaimed. Nasuti felt her heart squirm. Touma raised his eyebrows.

"Her face obviously is saying—"

"Yamano Jun is a loser who doesn't deserve a gal like this one," Seiji finished. Jun pulled a pitiful face.

"You guys suck," he moaned, dragging his feet over to the booth. Nasuti completely ignored him, in favor of listening to Chibiusa explain the booth. Chibiusa was motioning to the palm reader with a bright smile.

"My sister's friend is actually volunteering here, she's great. She picked up palm analysis just from reading a book, but she's practically an expert now. Ami, are you busy?"

"Oh, Chibiusa! No, it's actually been rather quie—"

The Troopers stared at the blue-haired girl in the yellow yukata working the booth; Shuu was openly pointing at her. She looked equally as dumbfounded to see them, a bit frazzled, even; her glasses were crooked and her mouth was frozen in a little 'o'.

"Ami?" Chibiusa leaned against the counter, wiggling fingers in front of her face. Nasuti gave them all a questioning look. "Are you in there?"

"Oh dear," Ami said, her hand at her mouth.

Chibiusa leaned closer, holding her hand up to her mouth to whisper secretly (but unfortunately not so quietly), "Hey, I know they're really good looking, but can you stop ogling? They're Jun's friends—"

Ami blushed, shaking her head fervently. "No no no, I don't—that's not at all what I—"

Ryo was the first to recover. There was no doubt about it; she was the blue senshi, the one who wielded water (it was rather easy to figure out; it wasn't like they wore masks or anything). He smiled at her, waving two fingers. "Nice to see you again."

"Eh?" Jun and Chibiusa looked from Ryo to Ami. "Again?"

"We've met," Touma added casually. He saw her take a deep breath before she relaxed. A graceful smile appeared on her face.

"I apologize again for the other day, it was rude of us to be so abrupt with you—"

"No need to apologize," Seiji said smoothly, following their plan. Nasuti had suggested that if they were going to get answers, being hostile was not the way to go. So they were going to play nice. And if these girls were really the Sailor Senshi (as they were obviously not the karate team from Juuban High), then maybe they would have answers as to why the youja soldiers were reappearing. Seiji gave Shuu a look; Shuu realized that she was one of the girls from the roof, and Nasuti instantly understood the situation. Jun, however, was still puzzled. How on earth did they know his girlfriend's sister's friend? Chibiusa, at the moment, was scratching her head, but she wisely said nothing.

"Shall I make up for it by free palmistry?" Ami asked earnestly. It was true; she had only just learned palm analysis for the festival. Chibiusa had come to them a month ago, asking for volunteers. When Ami had commented that she had been reading casually on palmistry, Minako had suggested that she try her skill out at the festival.

"If you insist," Shuu said charmingly, grinning as he held out his hand. "How does this work?"

Ami motioned at the small sign sitting on the booth. "I can go down the list and tell you about every single line, or you can pick out specific ones for me to look at."

"There's that many?" Shuu stared at the list, eyebrows raised. "What in the world do lines on my hand have to do with my sex life?"

Ami coughed, avoiding eyes, as Nasuti pinched him. "Shuu, there are kids—"

"Aw, I'm not a kid, oneechan!" Jun piped up. He did not pick up on the implications his statement held in reference to sex life, but Chibiusa turned blushed and buried her face in her hands.

"I'm dating an idiot," she said.

"Sounds about right," Seiji agreed. She peeked at him from between her fingers. "Unless, of course, you two—"

"Stop teasing her," Ryo said, slinging an arm around Seiji's shoulders. He winked at Chibiusa; if anything, the girl turned even more red. Touma laughed, knowing exactly that they were flustering her on purpose. If only she hadn't let it slip that she found them "really good looking…"

"Just tell me what's interesting," Shuu said cheerfully (unhelpfully). Ami seemed to want to disagree, but she took his hand in hers anyway. She traced one hand lightly with a finger, sending goosebumps down his arm.

"You have an unusually long fate line," Ami said after a moment. Her tone of voice was awed. Shuu said nothing, watching as her finger stopped at his wrist. She picked another spot on his palm, tracing a line he couldn't see. "This is your line of life. Do you see how it intersects?"

Shuu remained quiet, watching her trace the lines. She was going through each line on the list, as well as ones that weren't on there. Something about the finger of Jupiter, then his first and second bracelet—he didn't really pay attention. There was just something about the first thing she had said.

_You have an unusually long fate line. This is your line of life. Do you see how it intersects?_

How ironic, he thought. Although he had accepted his role as a samurai trooper—had accepted that his life was never going to be normal, that he was always going to be fighting—he found that her words had chilled him to very bone.

"Are you alright?"

Shuu blinked, realizing that Ami had stopped talking and his hand was no longer in hers. "Oh, yeah, sorry! I was just thinking about how hungry I was."

"Shuu, we had dinner already—"

"And you just annihilated those skewers—"

"Plus those pastries _before_ dinner," Touma pointed out, at which Nasuti balked.

"You two ate before dinner _again_?"

"His idea," Touma said defensively. Shuu stood up, pointing at Touma.

"You were the one who said to stop by the bakery—"

"There you guys are!"

Everyone turned to see Shin, looking charming in a white and navy patterned yukata. He had an armful of fireworks in his hands; two of them dropped as he made his way over. Touma scurried forward, picking them up and mentally thanking Shin for rescuing him from the wrath of Nasuti. "Got enough fireworks there?"

"Yeah, thank you, Touma—you wouldn't believe the seller," Shin started to say, fumbling with the rest of the fireworks. There had to be at least twenty packs in his arms. "It's like I couldn't say no to her. The thing is, she wasn't even pushy or anything! I can't imagine how she got me to buy all this—"

"She was probably really cute," Shuu pointed out. Shin's mouth opened to protest before he paused.

"Oh," he eventually said. Ryo grinned, taking half of the fireworks from him.

"It's fine, more fun for Jun and Chibiusa-chan."

"Chibiusa-chan?" Shin finally spotted the pink-haired squirt staring at him with wide eyes. He took a long at her hand, clasped in Jun's. "Oh, hello, it's nice to finally meet you. Jun speaks about you quite a lot, and I see he wasn't lying when he said how pretty you are!"

Chibiusa almost fainted at the combination of Shin's charms and his unintentionally flattering words. Instead she nodded pleasantly. The second he turned away, however, she glared at Jun. "Hey," she whispered, barely moving her lips. "Why are all your friends so hot?"

Jun pathetically turned his head to the sky, crocodile tears at the corner of his eyes.

"Enough small talk, can we go catch a goldfish or something?"

"Oh, Minako should be there, right, Chibiusa?" Ami piped up at Shuu's words. At once all attention was on her. She fell back, fumbling with her hands. "I mean, she could take care of you well, if you decided to head over there."

Shin blinked a few times, looking up from his fireworks. Oh, how coincidental. He cast Seiji a questioning glance; Seiji just smiled half-heartedly. Long story, his look said.

"Actually," Chibiusa said, looking faintly irritated. "Minako started making a few kids cry when she threatened them for calling her 'obachan,' so I had her help Mako at the food booth."

"Th—that might be an even worse idea," Ami said. Chibiusa shrugged.

"I know, but at least Mako is there to keep her in check."

The two looked off into the distance, as if recalling a memory. And then they both sighed at the same time, shaking their heads.

"Would you like to come with us?" Nasuti asked suddenly. At this, Chibiusa brightened up.

"Yeah, you're good at catching goldfish! I'm sure no one would mind, it's not like you had any customers anyway."

They all watched as an invisible arrow of unpopularity stabbed Ami right in the back. "I—if you say so," she said weakly, hanging her head.

"I don't understand why, palm analysis seems very interesting," Shin spoke up. Ami lifted her head, gaze curious at his kind smile. "I mean, to think that you have your whole life right in your hands—that's kind of amazing, isn't it?"

"Exactly!" Ami said almost zealously. "Because your hands essentially make up who you are, you do everything with them."

"So naturally they should represent everything about you," Shin agreed. The two of them stared at each other for a moment, smiling slightly. Touma and Seiji exchanged raised eyebrows.

"What about amputees?" Shuu asked. Shin turned startled eyes onto him as Ami tried to cover up a muffled laugh.

"O—oh my goodness, Shuu, you can't just _say_ things like that," Nasuti hissed, pinching him again.

"You should come," Ryo said to Ami, ignoring the small conflict. It was an everyday occurrence to them. "Teach us how to scoop some goldfish."

"We would be honored to learn from you," Touma added.

Ami blushed, nodding her head jerkily. "If—if it's no bother at all—"

"Not at all," Ryo said, gesturing for her to follow after. Ami quickly placed a sign on the booth's counter, deeming it closed.

"This would be a good chance to get to know Chibiusa's boyfriend, anyway," Ami remarked, slinging her purse around her shoulders and removing her glasses.

"Oh, don't worry about that," Seiji said. "He's nothing special."

They all watched as Jun, who had led Chibiusa ahead of them, openly gawked at a high schooler that passed by. Chibiusa didn't even hesitate to slap him over the head.

"Oh dear," Ami commented, hoping that the boy would never have the bad luck to meet Makoto and Rei.

* * *

**an** i hope someone out there is still reading! ;; thank you all!


	4. Chapter 4

four

"This," Minako said with a flourish of her arms, "is the most boring job I've ever had."

"It'll be over soon," Makoto replied without even looking at her. Minako pouted to herself, continuing to pull apart paper plates. Two hours ago, she'd nearly stomped on a little kid's face for calling her obachan. Her foot was an inch away from his face before Chibiusa popped out of nowhere and intervened.

"You," Chibiusa said scarily as the boy ran to find his mother.

"You?" Minako looked stunned. "What ever happened to 'Minako-neechan'?"

"_You_," Chibiusa repeated. "Makoto. Now."

Minako didn't even bother to hide her enthusiasm; she happily threw her goldfish apron over her shoulder as she skipped through the festival. Customers threw her dirty glares as she cut through the line at the fried squidball booth and slapped her hand down on the counter. "Hey there, Mako, need some help?"

Makoto stared at her. Then she stared at the next customer, as if he had all the answers. The customer shrugged. "Oh, sure, Minako, just come around back."

Fast forward to the present, where Makoto had Minako peeling paper plates and arranging them on the table.

"I can't dooooo this anymoooooore," Minako wailed dramatically. Makoto reached around her to take a plate. "Mako, let's dip out. Let's go find Chibiusa's boyfriend and make him miserable."

"Minako," Makoto said, ignoring her words and eyeing the plate. She stuck her nail at the edge and pulled out a second plate. "You need to make sure there's only one, or else we're going to run out."

"One, two, five, you know what they say, it's all a bunch of apples," Minako crowed. She caught the blank look on Makoto's face. That meant she was trying to calm herself down. She had picked it up over the years, and even though the tactic had good intentions, the results were disastrous. For Makoto, the more she bottled up, the stronger her temper came out.

"Minako—"

"I'll be over here," Minako piped up, setting down the plates and rushing to the front. She knew she was annoying Makoto to the ends of the earth, but she couldn't help it. She was _bored_. If she had the chance to say no to Chibiusa's puppy dog face, she would have taken it any day. Too bad everyone else had readily agreed before she could refuse.

Minako settled on a stool, gripping the seat edges. Almost instantly her thoughts went to their last two customers—Sanada Ryo and Shuu Reifang, they had introduced themselves as. Otherwise known to the Senshi as the Boys from the Roof (Plus Usagi's New Boyfriend, if Mamo-chan Never Existed). She cast her gaze down at her lap, frowning. She and Makoto had been casual enough with them (or maybe not—Minako remembered their bewildered stares as the two of them laughed really hard at a joke Makoto attempted to tell), but she was sure that the situation was still very present.

But what was the situation, exactly? That they suspected who the Sailor Senshi were? That was nothing compared to the information on them. Minako sighed, looking back up at the crowd surrounding the fortune teller's booth. Luna and Artemis had clued them in a bit on the identity of those boys. Armored fighters, or something like that. Vague details on what they did, who they fought. Not a threat, but keep an eye on them, just in case.

"Just in case what?" Usagi had asked, her fingers twisting in the folds of her skirt. She was apprehensive at the idea that her new friend could be dangerous.

"In case we're wrong," Luna had said gravely.

"Minako?"

Minako snapped her attention back to Makoto. "Yes?"

"You look worried."

She smiled wanly. "Yeah, I just can't stop thinking about—them."

"I understand." Makoto played with the stack of paper plates, her own eyes troubled. "I just don't get how we've never met them before."

"I was going to save it for the next meeting," Minako continued slowly, feeling a bit guilty for leaving her out of the loop, "but it's been eating at me."

"What is it?"

"Rei and I did some research last night, at the command center." Minako missed the fleeting, annoyed look on Makoto's face. "There was a time period, Artemis told me, where all security footage had been erased."

"Erased?" Makoto looked perplexed. "On purpose?"

"It seemed like time had just frozen, actually. It was when we were at Point D." Minako's hands gripped the stool even more tightly. Makoto noticed her knuckles were turning white. It was the memory, she supposed, of dying. Sure, they had kicked the bucket a few times after, but nothing was like the first experience. "Apparently—there was a time lapse. We thought we were there for only a few hours. In fact, we were there for a few weeks. Beryl's magic disrupted our position in time."

"Why wasn't this ever brought up before?" Makoto shook her head, unable to believe it. A few weeks? Why did no one realize that they were gone?

"Artemis and Luna, they were there," Minako said. She released the stool with one hand, touching her lip thoughtfully. "I'm not sure why they never told us before. They probably didn't think it was a threat to us—or maybe those guys took care of it well enough. But I guess when we were gone, there was an ancient evil that took over Shinjuku."

"Shinjuku." Makoto stared at her, a billion questions already flying through her mind. "How on earth did Shinjuku get taken over and we didn't notice? Or why did no one say anything, for that matter?"

"I guess it's like how no one remembers getting their hostes stolen," Minako mumbled, chewing on the nail of her thumb. "When we got back, the ancient evil was already gone."

"Gone," Makoto echoed. "Unless—Minako, you don't think—"

"I can't be sure," Minako confessed. She met Makoto's gaze evenly. "I don't know what kind of evil it was. Artemis and Luna said they had no idea either, since they were at the command center the whole time. But do you remember, before the Black Moon family came, how Ami was getting random energy spikes on her computer?"

"Barely," Makoto said grimly. The hustle and bustle of the festival was far from her mind now. She focused completely on Minako's words, absorbing everything in.

"I think that might have had to do with these Roof Boys." Minako sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I honestly think we just have too many pieces and no glue."

"Good one," Makoto said absently. Minako beamed.

"Came up with it myself!"

Makoto took in a deep breath, glancing out at the crowd. Things had just become a new level of complicated. Time lapses and ancient evils? She still wasn't sure she could trust those boys; in her experience, all the good looking ones meant trouble. But what if those guys really had been left to fight that ancient evil themselves? What if, while the Senshi had been at Point D, they had gone through worse things? "Maybe we should just confront them."

But before Minako could answer, a gaping hole stretched across the sky, and out piled cold, metal soldiers with black eyes. The two of them stood grimly, hesitating only for a second.

"Let's go."

"Already ahead of you," Makoto said, rushing against the flow of the crowd and into the fray of chaos. Minako was only a step behind.

x

"Gee," Rei said flatly to the kid who was staring right at her boobs, "looks like you're going to drown tomorrow at the swimming pool. Next!"

"C—can she say that?" Usagi gaped, her arm hanging limply in Mamoru's. Mamoru scrunched up his face, just as the kid was pushed aside. He was replaced by a drooling teenager with acne.

"What's my fortune, baby?" the teenager asked, leaning forward on his elbow and winking at her.

"You're going to drop your toaster in the bath tub," Rei replied without even looking at the crystal ball prop in front of her. "Next!"

"W—what?!" The teenager flailed as the next person in line kicked him out of the chair. Rei blew her bangs out of her face, thankful for the mother and her cute little daughter who just wanted to know if they were going to have any luck the following day.

"Honestly, I have no idea," Mamoru said. He and Usagi tilted their heads, watching from a distance as Rei pleasantly told the little girl that she was going to catch a goldfish. The little girl clapped her hands and immediately asked her mother to take her to the goldfish booth. The second the next customer sat down, however, Rei's face snapped back into a glare. "Usa, your friend is scary."

"Agreed," Usagi said, shuddering as the middle-aged man teared up at Rei's blunt words ("Wow, you're going to get hit by a bus tomorrow. Next!).

Mamoru slipped his arm around Usagi's waist, not minding the stares he was getting from traditional mothers and fathers. It had taken him awhile to get used to it (this whole idea of a wonderful life with a wonderful woman by his side), but he eventually warmed up to public displays of affection. Usagi was a warm girl, and he knew that he had to melt a bit of his cold self into to match with her. And over the years, he had noticed she herself had cooled off—to match with _him_.

"She sure is handling this well."

The two of them turned to see Haruka and Michiru, standing side-by-side.

"You're kidding," Usagi grumbled, watching as cherry blossom petals scurried in the air around them. Was that a violin playing in the background? "You guys are still doing that?"

"Doing what?"

"That—that graceful painting kind of look!" Usagi sniffed at their blank stares. "Elegance is _way_ overrated."

"Funny, Minako said the same thing when we ran into her at the mall the other day," Michiru replied. She and Haruka shared an amused glance, as if fondly remembering something that no one else would (or could) understand. Usagi huffed again. If only Minako were there to share her jealousy...

Mamoru ignored the flower petals. "Chibiusa got to you as well?"

"Of course," Haruka said, absently playing with her fan. "What better do we have to do than spend our riches to support the school?"

"Dear," Michiru said with a pleasant smile, all the while stomping down on Haruka's foot, "you're embarrassing me."

"Ow! What the bleep did you do that for?"

"Bleep?" Usagi repeated cluelessly. Michiru just rolled her eyes, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"We're trying not to swear in front of Hotaru," she explained, ignoring Haruka's scowl. "Good parenting and all."

"Hotaru's seventeen," Mamoru pointed out. Michiru blinked politely.

"Yes, so?"

"Nevermind," Mamoru said, covering Usagi's mouth before she could elaborate. "So, anything interesting catch your eye?"

"Plenty," Michiru said, her smile suddenly coy. She was looking at him under her eyelashes, he realized with a panic. Haruka didn't notice; she was too busy nursing her own foot.

"Plenty?" Usagi repeated excitedly, falling right for the bait. Mamoru braced himself for the impact; this happened routinely with the two couples. "Like what? Mamo-chan and I have only been to the food booth, we haven't had much time to explore yet! So, what's interesting?"

"Oh, just some fireworks." Michiru paused for effect, turning her gaze upwards. "And your handsome fiancé gazing back at me, that's all."

"Excuse me," Usagi and Haruka said in unison, both turning to their respective partners. Michiru laughed, waving their concern away gently as Mamoru tried to pry Usagi's death-grip off his arm.

"Just kidding," Michiru said, putting her palm to Haruka's face and shoving it away. "Usagi, would you like to see Setsuna? She just messaged us that she's just arrived. I think she might be selling fireworks with Hotaru."

"Yeah, you can ask her all about her hot date," Haruka put in, swatting Michiru's hand away.

"Don't be ridiculous, it wasn't a _date_," Michiru said, flicking Haruka on the side. "He was just a friend's younger brother, wasn't he?"

"Setsuna had a _date_?" Usagi's mouth fell open as Mamoru's eyes widened. "Wow, that's great!"

Michiru rounded on Haruka. "See? Look at the rumors you're starting—"

"He brought her flowers," Haruka said. "If she didn't think it was a date, then he obviously did."

Michiru sighed, shaking her head. She turned back to Usagi. "So, what do you say?"

"Sure, let's go! But Mamo-chan is most certainly _not_ invited," Usagi added in childishly.

"I didn't even do anything!" Mamoru protested. He had thought that the subject had been dropped.

"You're seducing women left and right, how is that not _anything_?" Usagi retorted. She squealed when Mamoru grabbed one of her buns.

"You are so _troublesome_," he said, rolling his eyes.

"At least I'm not a super seducer," Usagi shot back. Mamoru wondered whether or not he should mention that boy from the pastry shop. He watched as she flailed her arm away from his, clinging instead to Michiru's. "Let's go, Michiru!"

"Don't get into any trouble, now, boys!" Michiru fluttered her fingers at them as the two departed. Haruka heaved a huge sigh of relief.

"Oh my _god_ she has been such a pain in the ass."

"Pardon?" Mamoru asked, eyebrows drawn close. As long as he had known them, Michiru and Haruka had always bickered. It was a part of their dynamic, their relationship—fun, cool, comfortable. He had never actually known one to be upset at the other. Haruka, however, seemed to be grateful that Michiru had left.

"She's pregnant, you know, hormones do that kind of bleep to a girl."

Three things ran through Mamoru's mind. He did not know which to comment on. First, Hotaru was nowhere around, so there was no point in censoring oneself. Second, did Haruka just discuss a woman's hormones with him? And third—

"She's _pregnant_?"

Haruka's grin was wicked. "Did I not mention it before? I'm having a baby!"

"Who's having a baby?" Rei, having left the fortune telling booth in a fit of frustration (she had practically shoved the crystal ball prop to the girl replacing her), stared as Mamoru's mouth flapped open and closed. "You are so weird."

"I am," Haruka said smugly. Rei turned her bemused stare from Mamoru to Haruka. "Don't give me that look! Science works wonders."

"Oh, well. Congratulations."

Haruka seemed to deflate. She adored Rei and all, but really, she wondered if the priestess needed to get out of the shrine. "Thank you," she said back with a pout.

"You're having a baby," Mamoru repeated, shaking his head and running a hand over his face. "I can't believe it. I mean, not saying it's improbable, but considering you two—not saying that means anything! Well, I mean, you two mean everything to us, you know."

"You are so _weird_," Rei repeated, wondering if Usagi had finally gotten to him.

"Congratulations," Mamoru finally said, grabbing Haruka's hand and pumping it. "You really deserve it."

"You bet I bleeping do!" Haruka said, thumping him on the back. "Let's go for drinks, yeah? Your treat!"

"My treat," Mamoru agreed, grinning at her. Haruka nudged Rei, who was looking at the both of them as if she couldn't properly understand what they were saying.

"Come on, pretty girl. You wanna ditch this place and that snobby attitude and come get something to sip on?"

Mamoru only knew of a handful of people who could call Rei a snob to her face and get away with it. He made a mental note to add Haruka to the list, as Rei only laughed. "You sure your pregnant girlfriend won't be jealous?"

"My pregnant girlfriend is probably out and about seducing unknowing men," Haruka said pointedly. "Let's grab Mako, too, and I'm sure Setsuna wouldn't say no."

"There's something I wanted to ask you," Rei started to say as the three of them made their way through the festival. It really was a success, Mamoru thought. Chibiusa had taken part in the planning committee, spending almost every day after school to help organize the event. He cast his eyes around, not surprised to see high school kids in their uniforms from other districts. There were parents with their children, siblings of the junior high students, girlfriends and boyfriends—it seemed almost as if it were an actual festival the city was throwing.

"What's that?" Haruka was momentarily distracted by a booth selling wind chimes. A breeze ran through and they tinkered away. Something felt odd about the melody, though.

"The talismans," Rei said quietly. Haruka tore her gaze away from the booth, eyebrows raised. It had been how many years since they had been discovered, and she only had an epiphany about them now?

"What about them?"

"Oh my god," Rei said suddenly, her calm disposition turning into mild irritation as she looked past Mamoru's shoulder. "This really can't be coincidence anymore."

Haruka and Mamoru curiously turned. They both immediately gaped.

"Is that Ami with _boys_?"

"Who is that kid with Chibiusa?!"

"Not saying that she can't roll with the guys," Haruka said, standing up straight with her hands on her hips, "but they all look like, well, I mean, that's obviously not the computer club."

Mamoru didn't even say anything as he hurried over to the goldfish scooping booth. He recognized two of the young men from the pastry shop. That would explain why Ami was with them, of course, to play friends or whatever Minako's plan was. It did not, however, explain the delinquent who had his arm around Chibiusa.

Four years ago, Mamoru would not have cared. Having died twice, however, made him realize that he could no longer dwell on his past and instead live for the future. That was what drove him—usually cool, calm, and collected—to approach the group and outright grab Chibiusa in a wind-knocking hug. "Chibiusa, there you are!"

Chibiusa gaped. "Ma—mamo-chan, what are you—"

Mamoru spun around for good measure. Ami buried her face in her hands as the party she was with could only stare. "Oh dear," she said, second-hand embarrassed.

"Mamo-chan, put me _down_," Chibiusa hissed, trying to push her future father away. Mamoru set her down and patted her head fondly.

"But you look so beautiful, Chibiusa!" He added in a wink. Haruka and Rei, seeing the wink, abruptly turned around and made for the other direction. "Haruka and Rei are here, too!"

The two of them cringed before they plastered on smiles and whipped around.

"Hi, Chibiusa."

"Hey kid, lookin' cute!"

"So," Mamoru said too cheerfully as he turned his grin onto Jun (all the while completely ignoring Shuu, Touma and Ryo, as they were not the ones who had their arms around his future daughter), "who's your friend?"

"Oh, hey," Shuu said, daring to speak up before Jun could say anything damaging. This man was completely different from the charismatic guy he and Touma had met at the pastry shop. "Chiba, right?"

"Oh, hello, Shuu, Hashiba!" Mamoru's hand continued to mess up Chibiusa's hair as he exuberantly waved with the other. Ryo wondered who the hell he was. "You two know Ami as well?"

"We did meet at the recital," Touma said unhelpfully as he caught Rei's eye. He gave her half a smile, one she either ignored or didn't see. He wanted to think it was the latter.

"The recital?" Haruka raised her eyebrows. So these were the goons? Darn, she had been hoping that Ami had been caught in the act of secretly flirting with all the boys. That was still on her bucket list of things to do before her baby was born—Catch Mizuno in the Act. "As in my recital?"

"Oh," Shuu said, lifting a finger as he recognized her. Ryo tilted his head and Touma blinked. "Yeah, your recital."

"Wow, what a small world!" Mamoru said over enthusiastically. "How about this fella, your friend, who's he again, Chibiusa?"

Jun had no idea who the strange old man assaulting his girlfriend was. He scowled, taking Chibiusa by the hand and pulling her near him. "She's my girlfriend, you pervert."

Five seconds passed, in which Ryo, Touma and Shuu dearly wished that Shin, Nasuti and Seiji hadn't gone to buy more tokens for the goldfish game, just so they could see Jun's life go down the drain—especially when Mamoru turned whiter than the moon hanging in the sky.

"I can't tell if he's mad about the girlfriend thing," Haruka said to Rei in a hushed voice, "or the pervert thing."

"Why not both?"

"I don't think he has the capacity to handle both."

The two of them turned to see Mamoru's hands twitch.

"Good thing they don't sell roses here," Rei said, holding her hand out. Haruka slapped her a subtle high five.

"Mamoru," Ami finally decided to intervene, feeling sorry for the kid who had no idea what was going on. "This is Yamano Jun, Chibiusa's boyfriend."

Mamoru turned to Chibiusa, whose eyes were fixed on her feet. "Chibiusa, is this true?"

"Yes," Chibiusa said very quietly, seeming to shrink in her yukata.

"Whose business is it anyway who she dates?"

Touma, Ryo and Shuu all wondered how Jun became such a dumb kid.

"Jun, cut it out," Chibiusa mumbled, pulling on his sleeve. "Leave it alone."

"What? Chibi, who is this guy?"

"My—brother," Chibiusa said weakly. "My sister's boyfriend, but basically my brother."

Damn right, Mamoru's face seemed to say. "Does Usagi know you have a boyfriend?"

Panic instantly seized Chibiusa as Ryo mused over how much smaller the world was going to get. "No, and you're not going to tell her!"

"She'll find out eventually, Chibiusa," Rei piped up. All eyes turned to her.

"Oh, hey," Jun suddenly said, his expression clearing into a smarmy grin at Rei. He winked at her. "You're that hot fortune teller!"

Ami looked up to the night sky. She had done what was in her power to help the boy from a great deal of suffering, but apparently some could just not be helped. She pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head regretfully. Shuu noticed her expression of despair. Then he noticed Rei's expression of murderous intent and, even though it would have been entirely amusing to see, took pity on Jun.

"So, hey," Shuu swiftly interjected before Rei could wrap her fingers around Jun's neck, "is Ami here single? Because she's refusing Touma's each and every compliment."

"W—what?" Touma choked out, eyes wide. He hadn't even spoken to the girl all night! He turned to share with Ami an exasperated look, only to find her bright pink and burying her face behind her hands again. Great. Ryo, very helpfully, started laughing, knowing that Touma had no idea how to handle the situation (hell, he had no idea how he would handle it if he himself were in that position). "Mizuno, that's not true at all, I wasn't hitting on you—"

"You have no taste, then," Haruka said smoothly, pulling Ami into her grasp in one motion. Ami thought that she would have been used to Haruka's shameless charm—except for the fact that she really wasn't. She yelped, grabbing onto Rei's sleeve. "More for me, I suppose."

"How does Michiru stand you?" Rei asked, pulling her sleeve away from Ami, who flailed a bit in Haruka's arms.

"Ha—haruka—"

"Oh, Michiru and I don't stand when we're together, we—"

Haruka suddenly stopped talking. At first, Mamoru thought that she had remembered there were children (his little girl and that demon child) around. Then, as he felt the wind blow a chill through his spine, he realized what caused her to stiffen. He let a small smile warm his expression as he sucked in a breath. "Come on, Chibiusa, let me treat you and your boyfriend to a snack."

Chibiusa stared up at Mamoru. It was that look in his eyes, again, that made her remember why she always wanted to visit the past. Mamoru had always been polite (albeit a little cold), but she had been taken in by his hidden instinct to care for those close to him. She smiled back at him, knowing full well that the abrupt change in his mood was due to Something Else—but she was thankful nonetheless, even if Jun looked like he would rather swallow a goldfish live. "Okay. Touma, Shuu, Ryo, are you guys coming?"

"Oh, we're fine, thank you."

A very diplomatic answer—one that had Haruka give the three of them a glance-over. Mamoru nodded at them before sighing at the two teenagers. "Let's go."

Touma watched them head towards the fried banana stand. He was not blind; he saw the way Haruka and Mamoru both had grown tense, just as he had felt a chill run down his own spine. He also noticed Haruka scanning the crowd with perceptive eyes. Was she a Sailor Senshi as well? It would explain her acquaintance with those other girls, as well as Kai'ou Michiru's involvement on the roof of the theater. He decided to act. "Is something wrong?"

"No, why do you ask?"

That was Ami. Touma was almost surprised by the thoughtful look in her eyes as she smiled at him. He had seen that look when she was reading Shuu's palm, and also when she and Shin were bonding over palm analysis. "You just seem tense, that's all."

"So do you."

A small, innate part of Touma also realized that he saw the same gaze when he looked into the mirror. Maybe he should have been hitting on her, he thought dumbly as he glanced away. It was Ryo, however, who answered her challenge. "We felt it, too, we know you guys are—"

"Oh WOW isn't that _great_," Shuu interrupted loudly, pointing at the sky. Someone had launched a lantern into the sky; it floated, lonely, bright against the cold backdrop it flew in.

Rei, despite herself, looked. She watched as the lantern pittered on its path to the full moon. She tuned the world out, ignoring Haruka accusing Ryo of, well, accusing them of lying (and if Ryo had known that Haruka was a woman, he probably would have gracefully backed down from a fight). Instead, she wondered—when was the last time she did a fire reading? Two years ago, that would have been her first instinct. The instant they encountered a new enemy, she would have been in the prayer room until her eyes could no longer stay open. The very second she woke up from her recurring dreams (premonitions—nightmares?), she would have rushed to the scared fire for guidance.

But now... Peace had led her intuition to believe in false hope.

The lantern was now nothing more than a faint speckle in the sky. Rei turned her attention back to the group, not at all surprised to see Haruka in Ryo's face. "You want to take me on, pretty boy?" she was saying.

Ryo glared right back, tilting his chin up. "You really want to fight over something this petty?"

"Petty or not, I can make you cry."

"Step away from me."

And, very predictably to Ami and Rei, Haruka pressed her hands on Ryo's chest and shoved. Ryo stumbled back, barely, before he sprung back up and shoved her right back. Touma and Shuu both grimaced, but they couldn't blame him; if they had been in his position, they would have done the same.

Before Haruka could retaliate, however, Rei grabbed the back of her yukata. "Is now really the time to be picking fights? There's an evil presence nearby."

"Evil presence?" Shuu smiled uncertainly. Sure, he had also felt that foreboding feeling, but he had no idea how much she knew. "You know that you were a fake fortune teller, right?"

"She's a priestess," Ami said hurriedly, playing with the cord of her purse. So much for pretending to be normal, she thought. Still, she tried one last ditch effort to save their secret. "It's probably nothing, Rei—"

But Rei had enough of pretending that Crystal Tokyo was right around the corner. She had enough of ignoring her nightmares, of playing ignorant to her foresight. She tightened her grip on Haruka. "Ami, you know it's not nothing."

"Quit scolding me, Hino," Haruka finally grumbled as Ami sighed in defeat. She shrugged easily out of Rei's grip, casting Ryo an annoyed glance and cracking her knuckles. "I won't hurt the poor guy."

Ryo's lips tightened, but he looked at Rei as he spoke. His fingers gripped the yoroi ball he had in the fold of his obi. Her gaze seemed too serious for him to believe that the priestess's instinct was nothing. "What are you—sensing?"

For the moment, the two of them forgot about the game their parties were playing. Ryo didn't care if she was a Sailor Senshi, and Rei didn't care if he suspected them. There was something amiss in the air; how could they be concerned with secret identities when it felt as if evil were breathing right on their necks?

But before she could answer—a firework burst into the air, right where a gaping hole suddenly appeared. The lights glimmered, playing off the metal armor of the youja soldiers that piled out of it. No one seemed to notice at first, until a youja soldier grabbed a little boy and threw him into a stand. At once chaos ensued; civilians started screaming, pushing each other as they tried to run from the growing crowd of youja soldiers.

"Shit," Ami said, fumbling with her purse; Haruka almost choked. "We need to help everyone evacuate."

"A—Ami, you have to—it's _bleep_—"

"You should get to safety yourself," Ryo said, pulling out the yoroi ball. He saw Touma and Shuu do the same. Ami didn't even bother arguing with him as her eyes zoned in on their hands; she took Rei by the arm.

"Come on, we need to make sure Usagi's alright."

"That's my only request," Shuu said playfully, nodding his head at them. Touma said nothing as he focused on the hole in the sky.

"Right." Rei swallowed as she turned on her heel. Her eyes held onto Ryo's for another second. "Be careful."

He didn't say anything back, but he didn't need to—for some reason, they _trusted_ each other. The moment was quickly lost as Ami tugged on her arm again. The Troopers didn't wait to watch the two join the fleeing crowd; Ryo leapt in the air, throwing his yoroi ball. His subarmor swallowed him warmly before he held out his arms. "Buso Rekka!"

"Buso Kongo!"

"Buso Tenkuu!"

And there it was. Familiar and unfamiliar—their armors, old and at the same time new. It hadn't even been a year since they received the armors, but the memory of Suzunagi was bitter, sweet—and fading. Ryo paused only to flex his fingers before he glanced at Shuu and Touma. "Let's go."

"Don't have to tell me twice," Shuu said, springing into the foray before Touma could even respond.

"Well, bleep," Haruka said, watching them as they openly charged into battle. Touma was firing off arrow after arrow as the other two slashed and smashed away. She scratched the back of her head, staring at the big gaping hole. It hung over the festival, ominous, foreboding. It was also a few fifty feet in the sky. "How the bleep am I going to close _that_ up?"

* * *

**an** and so the plot unfolds! sort of. anybody confused yet? haha ;;

for the record… i am not a big fan of the message ova, and while i would like to pretend it doesn't exist, I do think the new armors look pretty badass. also! i do realize that if timelines were consistent, the troopers would be 5 years older than the senshi. let's say, for the sake of my sanity in keeping track of all of this, that they're all the same age, and that arago taking over shinjuku happened when the inner senshi went to go have tea time with the D&G girls and beryl.

thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

**five**

"Man," Shuu grunted as he slung his tetsubo over his shoulders. He surveyed, for a moment, the damage they were trying to prevent. Too bad his natural element dealt with crushing things. "Nasuti's going to kill us."

"Kill _you_," Touma corrected as he snapped his hankyu into the jaw of a youja soldier. He abruptly pivoted, catching another in the chest with his foot. "We need to find a way to close that hole."

There was a loud crash as Ryo was suddenly thrown off of two soldiers. He landed on his feet at the last minute, but the debris from the landing smashed the wind chime stand into pieces. Ryo grit his teeth, loosening his grip on both of his katana. Don't be tense, he told himself as he ducked a swinging chain—but it was hard to do when, after a year of peace, evil had come back. He pounced, almost like a tiger, putting a hole in the chest of the nearest youja soldier while slashing off the helmet of another.

"Careful, Ryo!" Shuu ducked under the swing of a sickle before pounding the youja soldier it belonged to. The whole battle would have been over if he could just use Gan Tessai, but he remembered the last time they had done considerable damage to the city. Under Nasuti's stern glare, he ended up making an anonymous donation to public funds to repair a whole block of a neighborhood.

"We should try closing it ourselves," Touma muttered to himself, firing off another wave of arrows. The youja soldiers wouldn't stop coming. He thought about Ryo's story about the highschool girl, Tomoe—about how she had just grabbed the edge and closed it, like a blanket folding over itself. "I'm going to try."

A bubble of blue light surrounded him. Shuu and Ryo stood in front of him, finishing off the last batch of youja soldiers before the next wave came. "Good luck," Ryo mumbled as he attached his katana together. He carefully let off a wave of fire, effectively avoiding the nearby stands.

"Don't fall," Shuu joked, taking out four youja soldiers at once with a mighty swing. Touma rolled his eyes before he began to float off the ground. But before he could fly straight to the hole, a pair hands crawled out of it.

"What the—"

The hands flexed, shooting black energy at them. Touma, on pure instinct alone, managed to drop back to the ground and shield Ryo and Shuu from the attack. He grunted, feeling the attack weigh in on his shield. It was unlike anything he'd ever felt—like his soul was being picked at.

"Jupiter oak evolution!"

"Venus love and beauty shock!"

The three Troopers watched as a heart-shaped orange light ("What the hell?" Shuu repeated) joined a barrage of leaf-like green lights; together, the lights dashed towards the hole. The hands grabbed onto them, effectively swallowing them up. And then the hands reached out into the air. Out from the hole came a leg—a torso—and a man climbed out, sitting on the crevice on it, grinning at them. He waved his hands in the air; a volley of black lightning crashed down on them.

Ryo jumped back, his fingers catching the back of Shuu's armor and pulling him with him. Touma continued to shield them the best he could, feeling his own bubble of dark blue light crack with the added pressure.

"This can't be real."

Ryo turned to see two Sailor Senshi—the green and orange ones, the ones from the food booth stand (he had forgotten their names already)—staring at the man with utter shock. "You know him?"

Venus turned her cautionary gaze to Ryo; he was startled as he looked back. Compared to the girl from the flower shop battle and the food stand, there was no humor in her eyes. "Who are you?"

Shuu was genuinely confused. Touma, however, understood. The Senshi did not have much except glitter and lights to hide their identity. The Troopers, however, had their faces concealed by their faceplates. He didn't expect them to recognize them by voice, either. "Could ask the same of you," Touma chose to reply wittily.

"I'm not in the mood to play games," Jupiter said, cracking her knuckles as she scowled up at the floating man, who was preparing to strike them again. "But we seem to have an enemy in common. Don't get in our way and we won't get in yours."

Ryo seemed to be offended. "You're not even fully protected! Skirts and shoes like that—"

"Don't judge a woman by her clothes," Venus interrupted briskly, ignoring Jupiter's cringe at her self-made proverb. "Jupiter, let's go!"

The two senshi leapt into action. They evaded the sickles and swords of the youja soldier, focused on the floating man, who threw down a lightning bolt at them. They barely dodged it. Ryo sighed in frustration as he took off after them. Shuu took a step forward before Touma stopped him. "What's wrong, Touma?"

"Something just isn't right," Touma said, his eyes sharp. He glanced around for a moment at the youja soldiers. "They're retreating."

"Maybe this guy is their boss and came to take care of it," Shuu said impatiently. He flipped his tetsubo to the naginata end, slicing down a youja soldier with hardly any effort. "Either way, I don't like the idea of those girls just—"

"Crescent beam!"

"Supreme thunder!"

The beam of light and sparkle of electricity seemed to fly right into the hole. The man started laughing, holding his hands up. Black lightning struck the ground again, cracking the earth. Touma managed to shout a warning. "Watch out!"

Ryo, at the last second, managed to evade a sharp bolt of lightning. He grabbed Jupiter's arm and yanked her back, just as a spear almost sliced open her leg. "Careful!" Ryo said sharply. Jupiter looked like she wanted to snap back; instead she nodded at him and cupped her hands, letting another burst of electricity fly at the floating man. The hole swallowed it up again.

"That's it, this place can't get any more messed up," Shuu growled, spinning his tetsubo over his head. Touma felt the energy radiating from him and took a step back. The air oozed of Kongo's aura. He had doubted, at first, this new armor, but there was no denying it now. They were still the same. He watched as Shuu readied himself; the bearer of Kongo brought down his tetsubo. "Gan tessai!"

The ground split open as his surekill surged through the area. The remaining youja soldiers all crumbled into dust, black smoke rising. The floating man diverted his attention from the two Senshi to Shuu. He tilted his head to the side, analyzing him.

"Like what you see?" Shuu taunted, spinning his tetsubo again. Touma took in a deep breath, trying not to reprimand him. As much as he would have liked to control damage, Shuu was right; there had been no other way to clear the soldiers while avoiding this floating man at the same time.

"You're destroying the school!" Venus cried out, stumbling over the rubble as she made to stand. The impact of Shuu's surekill had knocked her over.

"This guy's going to destroy the world if we don't do something," Shuu replied back just as hotly.

"You don't know what you're dealing with. Get out of here, we can handle this!"

"Really, because everything you're throwing at him seems to be getting swallowed up!"

That was Ryo. He and Venus glared at each other for a stale moment, in which Touma pulled out an arrow and aimed. He poured a small amount of his own energy to accompany the flying arrow; the floating man allowed it to be sucked into the hole.

"What was the point of _that_?" Shuu asked.

"Shut up," Touma said, focusing. He felt the arrow travel still, before it finally landed on a target on the other side. If he could just tune out the world here, he could feel the energy of what was on the other side of the hole. The other side pulsed against his arrow; Touma tensed, uneasy. He had felt this before.

The floating man, however, didn't stop for theatrics; he sent bolt after bolt of black lightning down onto them. Ryo managed to evade them all, as did Shuu and Touma; Jupiter tackled Venus aside, but it was too late. Venus cried out as the bolt struck her back.

This caused the floating man to smile. Jupiter helped Venus up, her eyes glaring at him. "How," she said, more to herself. "How is this possible?"

"They know more than they're letting on," Ryo realized. But that didn't mean they were any help. He had to something before they were all struck down. Ryo leapt into the air, holding his joined katana above his head. There it was—the familiar burning sensation, travelling through his body and down his katana. "Sou en za!"

The barrage of flames engulfed the floating man and the hole. For a moment, there was nothing but insane heat, sending the dust around the ground to swirl into the air. Jupiter and Venus shielded their eyes, squinting at the image. Ryo fell back down to the ground, disconnecting his katana but not putting them away.

"Impossible!" Shuu stuttered as the flames and smoke cleared. The floating man was still there. He looked ruffled, and his clothes and hair were noticably singed, but he was very much alive—and very angry. Without warning, he lifted his arms and sent down solid beams of black light; they all managed to avoid getting caught (Venus was half-lifted out of the way by Jupiter).

"Holy—shit," Touma said.

The area where the beams had struck became gaping craters in the ground. The floating man descended down, smirking as his feet touched the ground.

Shuu swallowed, lifting up his tetsubo. "Let's try this again," he said. Although the others were gaping in disbelief, he felt the challenge rise up in him. He spun his tetsubo again, more rapidly than before. He smashed his tetsubo down onto the ground with everything he had. "Gan tessai!"

Jupiter sprung back, feeling the ground shake as Shuu's surekill roared through the ground. Venus let out an almost unworldly growl as she saw the earth split even more. Pieces of cement were flying through the air as Shuu's attack struck the floating man; the floating man stumbled over as the attack ripped over him.

"You're making it worse—"

"Are you _kidding_ me?!" Shuu burst, gaping at her behind his faceplate. "I just threw him down—"

Jupiter, unlike Venus, couldn't be bothered arguing. The floating man was down; that was all that mattered. Before he could get up again, she attacked. "Sparkling wide pressure!"

The attack bombarded him, sizzling through his skin. The floating man continued to stand, however, and he sent back a powerful black energy that threw her back. Jupiter bit the inside of her cheek as she landed, close to Ryo. "Ouch," she grumbled, ignoring the arm he offered. "This guy won't give up."

While all of this was going on, Touma took a step back. He felt a finger tap his armor, and he whirled around, arrow ready.

"Woah, calm down, buddy," Haruka said, hands in the air. Her fan dangled uselessly from her wrist. Touma blinked.

"You're still here?"

"Of course I am," Haruka said, brushing imaginary dust off her yukata. Her eyes slid to the hole in the sky. "So I saw that you can fly."

Touma had almost forgotten about the hole. He turned his gaze in that direction as well. "More or less," he said. He glanced over at Ryo, who narrowly avoided a beam of black light. Shuu and Venus were still arguing, until Venus suddenly tackled the bearer of Kongo to prevent him from getting electrocuted by black lightning. Jupiter then grabbed the both of them up roughly.

"Do me a favor," Haruka said. Touma turned to her, seeing her reckless grin. "Take me up there."

"No," Touma said immediately.

"I'm the only one here who can close that hole, kid." Haruka's grin didn't let down, not as Touma bit back a retort. "Take me up there."

"Tell me how. I'll do it myself."

"You can't," Haruka said simply. She grabbed his arm suddenly and jumped back, taking him with her. The ground they had been standing on was scorched; Touma glared over at the floating man, who was throwing random volleys of black energy around.

"You're a Sailor Senshi, like them."

"Not like them," Haruka said casually. "We can talk about this later, kid. Beam me up."

Touma cleared his throat. "How should I…" He didn't exactly want to wrap his arms around another guy, but if it was the only way—he sighed at her expectant look, putting an arm around her. The blue bubble of light returned and they were floating—but that wasn't what stopped him. He gaped at her, feeling her slim waist in his grip. "You're a girl!"

"Woman," Haruka corrected lazily. "Hurry, before we're seen."

"Right." Touma cleared his throat again, flying them to the hole. If only Ryo knew that he had almost gotten into a fight with a woman... As soon as they approached the hole, Haruka immediately detangled herself from his grasp, grabbing onto the top of the hole. He watched as she yanked down, connecting the top and the bottoms of the hole; it sealed itself up. Then she settled herself back comfortably in Touma's arms.

The two of them quickly fell back to the ground; once Touma's feet touched pavement, Haruka slipped out of his grasp. The floating man still had yet to notice that his hole had closed up.

"How did you—?"

"Later, I said." Haruka suddenly looked grim as she observed the ongoing battle. Venus seemed like she hadn't fully recovered from the first attack, but she was being stubborn. She had never seen any of the Guardian Senshi like this before—so defiant to help. Wasn't that usually her and Neptune's role? "What do you say to double teaming that unaware bad guy?"

Touma said nothing, but he fit an arrow to his hankyu. The clouds above floated in front of the moon. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a shadow pass over Haruka; in an instant, the yukata was gone and she was wearing a Sailor Senshi uniform. Briefly, he wondered why Haruka was so open with her secret, unlike the other girls they had met earlier. He turned his eyes back to the floating man. This time, he wouldn't miss.

"Shin ku ha!"

"World shaking!"

The ground rippled again, but Uranus's attack was different from Shuu's surekill—just as strong—stronger, even— but seemingly gentle at the same time. All parties stopped to watch the golden planet smash into the floating man as Touma's arrow pierced his heart. Both attacks faded away, but the outcome was obvious. The floating man was frozen, for a moment, suspended in air, before he fell to the earth, crumpled. His body then turned into dust.

"Uranus!" Venus gasped out, whipping her head to the source of the attack. "You're here!"

"I've been here," Uranus muttered, more to herself, rolling her eyes; Touma cracked a smile. Jupiter approached the older Senshi, punching her on the shoulder affectionately.

"I'm glad you're here," she said, and her expression quickly changed as she glanced at Touma. It looked almost guilty, but she didn't say anything to him.

Uranus nodded her head over at the body of the floating man. "See if you can collect some of his remnants."

"That's—kind of morbid," Venus said, but she made her way over to the body. She passed Ryo and Shuu along the way, saying nothing to them. They both exchanged glances before making their way to Uranus.

"Thank you," Ryo said, after a moment. He had recognized her (_her_) as the person (whom he, of course, had assumed was a man) he had tried to fight. His words, however, seemed honest enough. Uranus raised her eyebrows. He seemed to be struggling with himself; then he spoke again. "About earlier..."

"Whatever," Uranus said, waving it off. Years ago, she would have reveled in his apology. But after raising a child (until Hotaru hit her many growth spurts, anyway) and expecting one on the way, she had matured—only a bit, though. If it had been Setsuna apologizing, she would have made older woman grovel at her feet.

"I think you owe us some explanations, though," Shuu pointed out, his tetsubo casually hanging over a shoulder.

"We don't owe you anything," Venus, holding out a jar of (yuck, thought Ryo) the floating man's dust, bristled. Their gazes clashed. Touma, again, wondered about the hostility.

"Pluto can analyze the dust, see if he really was an outer world threat," Uranus continued, ignoring their conversation. At her words, Touma frowned. An outer world threat? The feeling he had gotten from his arrow he had sent through the hole... It had felt like the Youjakai. Jupiter, however, turned her attention back to Uranus, sighing.

"No need to," she said, a grim look on her face. "You've never met him before, but we have. That was Rubeus, from the Black Moon clan."

x

Seiji didn't know where the last half hour had gone. One second he had been purchasing more tokens for the festival, and the next, people were screaming, shoving past him in terror. He fought against the crowd, losing sight of Shin. Nasuti, however, was right there; he grabbed her arm, pulling her to him. "Stay close to me."

Nasuti bit her lip as they weaved through the crowd. Finally they came to the end; Shin was already there, the pack of fireworks at his feet. The two of them followed his line of sight to see a hole in the sky, with youja soldiers pouring out. "Again?" Seiji murmured. "So soon, after the last attack."

"Whoever they are, they're getting restless," Shin said. He looked over at Nasuti. "Are you okay?"

Nasuti was pale, but she nodded. "Yes, I'm fine. If you two need to go—"

"Mouri?"

The three of them whirled around to see a tall young woman in, unlike other festival-goers, a crisp suit. Seiji noticed immediately the Tiffany and Cartier bracelets on her wrist, as well as the Coach wristlet dangling from her manicured fingers. How on earth was a woman like that associated with Shin?

Shin nodded slowly, acknowledging her. "Setsuna-san, what are you doing here?"

"This is why I had to leave dinner early. My daughter's best friend is on the committee here." Her steps towards them were brisk. Seiji and Nasuti both blinked at Shin, who seemed to forget all about the youja soldiers. At a foot-length distance, Seiji saw that her eyes were the color of blood. "We should go. It's dangerous."

"Oh," Shin said, blinking. He shook his head, re-realizing the danger. Her gaze softened slightly as he agreed. "You're right. Come on."

And there went their plan of charging in and fighting the threat. A half hour later, Seiji and Nasuti found out that this woman was Meiou Setsuna—and, contrary to what Shuu had told them, she and Shin had _not_ gone on a date earlier (although Seiji was pretty sure that Shin sometimes forgot to breathe whenever he looked at Setsuna). They were acquainted through a co-worker of Setsuna's, who happened to be Shin's brother-in-law. That meant she was a scientist—still, Seiji was convinced that this woman did more. What kind of scientist wore Louboutins?

"You're far from Shinjuku," Setstuna commented as they stood anonymously in the crowd. Many had gone home, but others had been separated from their families. Seiji was briefly thrown back to the first battle with the youja soldiers and Shuten Douji. Though the chaos now was nothing like it had been before...

"A friend of ours attends Juuban Municipal," Nasuti said. She was worried about Jun. Hopefully he was safe. "Do you have any idea what is going on?"

Setsuna looked troubled. "Honestly, I'm not sure. But if you would like, my apartment is not far from here. We don't have to stand around waiting, and you can give your friend my address to meet us there."

"We're fine, thank you," Seiji started to say, just as the nearest woman started complaining on her phone about how all public transportation was being cut off due to some terrorist attack.

"I can't let you wait this out," Setsuna said politely.

And so ten minutes later, they were sitting in a chic living room of a sky-rise apartment, sipping on tea that Setsuna had prepared. The television was on, rattling off the news. Shin was barely paying attention; getting back to Shinjuku was the least of his concerns. Jun had phoned Nasuti back, saying his girlfriend's brother had brought him home, but Touma, Ryo and Shuu hadn't picked up their phones.

Of course they hadn't. They were probably dealing with the threat. And he felt useless, sitting there, drinking tea.

"Are you a student at Tokyo University as well?"

Seiji glanced up at Setsuna's question. He cleared his throat. "Yes, Shin and I are both in our second year."

Which was why they were so far from home. It was almost a miracle, Seiji thought, that he had gotten in. It was probably only thanks to Touma's help (although thinking back on it, was being called an idiot every five minutes worth it?). If he hadn't made it into Tokyo University, his parents probably would have made him stay and take care of the dojo. He was sure it was the same situation with Shin and the pottery shop. Shuu and Ryo, however, were not as lucky; with their family's blessing (in Ryo's case, an absence of response from his father), they chose to stay in Shinjuku and attend Waseda University.

He turned back into the conversation, just as Nasuti started explaining her graduate studies, also at Waseda. Unlike most people, who pretended to listen to Nasuti as she rambled on and on about ancient history, Setsuna seemed genuinely interested. For some reason, that made Seiji not trust her even more.

"What do you do again?" Seiji asked ever politely, clueless to the fact that Shin that stepped on his foot for interrupting Setsuna. Setsuna just smiled (though not very kindly, he thought).

"I'm a researcher at Keio University," she said smoothly. She tilted her head, looking up at the ceiling. "And I also enjoy ice cream."

"What... does that have to do with...?" Seiji asked, unsure. Shin, however, beamed.

"Yes, your love for ice cream is rather infamous," he said, laughing at her owlish blink. "My brother-in-law mentions it frequently."

"Ah, how embarrassing," Setsuna said almost childishly, putting a hand to her cheek. Seiji and Nasuti stared as she blushed. Shin, however, nudged Nasuti, giving her a look that said Isn't She _Perfect_? "Anyway, perhaps I could arrange a place for you to stay tonight, or at least until the commotion has died down—"

"We couldn't!" Shin disagreed before Seiji could shoot her down snootily. "Setsuna, you're way too kind—"

"Only because you are kind yourself, Mouri. I couldn't be heartless to someone as warm as you."

Seiji openly gaped. Was this old woman _flirting_ with Shin? And did Shin actually _enjoy_ it? He shared a look with Nasuti, just as Shin managed to bashfully wave away the compliment.

"Don't be silly, I—"

He stopped talking as the sound of tapping. The four of them stared cluelessly at each other before they turned to the window. Seiji almost had a heart attack. "What in the—?!"

There, at the window, was Touma, fully armored and looking sour. The culprit of the tapping was the grinning blonde in his arms, carried like a bride. On Touma's back was Ryo, who seemed to be content where he was. They could barely make out Shuu dangling from Touma's leg.

Seiji cast a nervous glance at Setsuna, who monotonously stood up and moved to the window. He balked as she calmly pulled it open. "May I help you?"

"Please," Touma said through gritted teeth while Ryo squeezed his neck even more tightly, "may we come in?"

"Of course," Setsuna said pleasantly. She moved to the side, hands clasped in front of her as Touma dumped Haruka through the window. Ryo climbed over his head next, not even apologizing as an angle of his armor bent Touma's ear back. In frustration, Touma all but kicked Shuu in through the window with a growl.

"Jeez," Shuu said, letting his armor subside in a flash of light as he stood up (Seiji clutched at his heart; he apparently had missed the memo that no one cared about secrecy anymore). He dusted off his yukata carelessly. "You need to lighten up."

"You weigh more than an ox," Touma snapped as he awkwardly climbed in through the window. His disgruntled expression cleared as he noticed the three on the couch. "Oh, hey."

"H—hello," Nasuti said faintly, looking pale.

"Oh my," Setsuna said, her hand at her cheek again. "I might not have enough cups for tea."

"Oh, please forgive us for intruding," Ryo said, suddenly noticing the situation they were in. He and Shuu bowed respectfully, leaving Seiji to wonder if Shuu's good manners had somehow made an impact on Ryo's wild personality.

"It's no intrusion at all," Setsuna said, tilting her head to the side. She seemed to sparkle a bit. "I don't get many visitors."

"That's depressing," Haruka said pointedly. She had somehow managed to find a bottle of whiskey from the kitchen and was busy pouring herself a glass. "You're depressing."

"And you chase away all my friends," Setsuna said, a sudden glint coming to her eye. Shin, Seiji and Nasuti jumped at her suddenly sharp tone. "Be a dear, Haruka, and make some tea."

"Anyone else want a drink?" Haruka asked the other occupants of the room, ignoring Setsuna's request. After a still moment, Seiji lifted his hand.

"Please," he added, feeling that his brain was not capable of taking any more nonsense.

"Coming right up," Haruka said, making to pull more glasses from the cupboard. Shin sighed as he scratched his cheek.

"Setsuna-san, I can explain all of this—"

"I can explain it better, boy," Haruka said as she clinked ice cubes into Seiji's glass. "First of all, I totally saved the day—"

"Doubt it," Setsuna muttered darkly. Nasuti gave her an apprehensive glance.

"—and secondly, I totally knew you would try to seduce your boyfriend into coming here, so I brought these kids along," Haruka finished. She handed Seiji the glass. Seiji promptly downed it.

"I'm not her boyfriend," Shin said plainly, used to the bantering (Seiji, of course, saw him blush—barely). "But can you please backtrack? How did you 'save the day'?"

Ryo answered before Haruka had the chance. "She closed the hole," he said matter-of-factly, as if it were common knowledge.

There was a brief second in which Seiji and Shin stared at Haruka, who brushed off her shoulder. "That's right, I closed that thing right up—"

"Are you forgetting someone helped?" Touma asked dryly.

"You're a woman," Seiji said dumbly, only focusing on the 'she' of Ryo's sentence.

"Duh." In response, he held out his glass. Haruka refilled it generously. "But yeah, this kid flew me up there, I guess. Not like I wouldn't have found another solution."

Before Touma could retort, the door slammed open. "I'm home!"

"Welcome back!" Haruka greeted enthusiastically, her eyes lighting up.

"I need a bigger apartment," Setsuna said to herself. They all watched as Hotaru, whose back was turned to them, struggled to get her key out of the lock. "Did you make it back okay?"

"Mm, Ami and Rei took Usagi and Chibiusa home safely. Michiru didn't feel well, so Mamoru is taking her back home, after he drops off that worm. Oh this darn thing—"

"Worm?" Haruka laughed when Hotaru put one foot on the door and leaned back with all her might. The key didn't budge.

"Yeah, that ugly kid she's dating." With a huff, Hotaru let go of the key and stared at it with her hands on her hips. Shuu, Ryo, and Touma exchanged amused glances as Nasuti bristled. "Say, would you be upset if I broke your door?"

"Very," Setsuna said placidly.

"Well I have some extra fireworks I snagged on the way back," Hotaru continued as if she didn't hear her. "Maybe I could use them to blast this thing out."

"Please don't," Setsuna said as Haruka whooped, "That's my girl!"

"Oh, Haruka, you're here? I thought you were Setsuna the whole time—" Hotaru turned around and the smile dropped off her face. At once she slapped her hand over her mouth, staring at everyone with a look of horror.

"Yo," Shuu said, wiggling his fingers at her. Shin smiled, though inwardly he was berating himself. She had been the one to sell him so many fireworks during the festival—and, true to Seiji's words, she was indeed cute.

"A harem," Hotaru said in a hushed voice, shrinking back and lowering her hands. She turned to Haruka, who seemed irritated at being confused with Setsuna. "So it was true!"

"A harem?" Shin raised his eyebrows at Setsuna, whose cheek twitched in annoyance. He had heard from his brother that Setsuna was very mild-mannered, hard to displease, but when her temper came out—

"Haruka, why would Hotaru jump to the conclusion that I have a harem in my apartment?"

"I dunno, maybe 'cause you're old and unmarried," Haruka replied tactlessly. She made to grin impishly, but that motion was cut short when Sestuna dumped her tea all over her lap.

"Oh my," Setsuna said as Haruka begun shrieking. It took ten minutes to calm her down (the tea had been cold, and Haruka had only reacted dramatically because the yukata she wore had been more expensive than Setsuna's whole rent) and fifteen more minutes to get everyone somehow settled into the now cramped apartment. Five minutes after that was spent trying to get the key from the door (after much effort, Touma reached over and turned it the other way before plucking it out). The last three minutes were spent reassuring a panicked Hotaru that they were _not_ Setsuna's harem.

("Thank goodness," Hotaru mumbled, leaning back with a sigh, her hand on her forehead. "I'd be so upset if she hogged them all to herself."

Everyone stared. Haruka stared the hardest.

"Just kidding!" Hotaru said, flashing everyone a peace sign. Setsuna grumbled something about Too Much Time with Chibiusa. Haruka immediately laughed a bit too loud, thumping Touma on the back.

"Isn't she great? That's my baby girl! Don't ever touch her.")

They all sat awkwardly around the living room, half of them sprawled on the floor. Seiji was nursing his fourth glass of whiskey. "So please tell me again why we're here."

An uncomfortable silence filled the room. Setsuna's apologetic gaze drifted out the window she stood by. It was late into the night already, but there were no stars. The sirens had long since faded away, even though the news was saying that public transportation would continue to be offline until the morning.

"Setsuna?" Shin asked softly, catching everyone's attention. Her eyes shifted to him. "You are a Sailor Senshi, correct?"

The corner of her lip curved up humorlessly. "That's right."

Shin let out a breath he was holding. He didn't seem surprised—just faintly upset. "And judging by how shocked you _weren't_ at the sight of Touma flying outside your window—"

"I know who you are as well." Setsuna glanced back outside. The rueful smile hadn't left her. "Though that isn't why I befriended you."

"Please," Nasuti said before Shin could question her further, "will you tell us what's going on?"

"How do you figure we know something?" Haruka countered, looking, for the first time that night, serious. Her arms were crossed, but her slouched posture made her look calm, not defiant.

"Just—" Nasuti broke off, thinking for a moment. She shook her head, her hair falling over her shoulders. "The Sailor Senshi have suddenly come back after so many years of inactivity, coincidentally when monsters have started to show up again. And the youja soldiers' reappearance is supposed to be impossible."

"Impossible why?"

"Their master was defeated," Ryo spoke up, running a hand through his hair. Haruka made no sign that she comprehended; she merely stared at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Again, what does this have to do with us knowing something?"

"You can close the holes," Touma said. "And you also told me that I couldn't."

Haruka glanced at Setsuna, who nodded. She straightened from her slouch and placed her hands on her hips. "We can close any holes that don't belong in this universe. It's just one way to protect this world from outsiders."

"You know, we fight for good, too." Shuu looked a bit annoyed as he leaned back on his hands. "And even though I have never heard of you ladies before, I would gladly accept your help if you offered. So why are you guys so stingy?"

Haruka's eyebrows rose again. "Did I or did I not help you destroy that guy?"

"Your orange and green friends did not share your sentiments," Ryo said dryly. Shuu heartily agreed.

"Ah, that's right—you said you were 'not like them,'" Touma said, sitting up thoughtfully. He turned his curious gaze to Haruka. "What did you mean—"

Setsuna's voice was almost dry as she spoke. "Those young ladies you met on the roof do not quite share the same burden as we do. Please do not put them together with us."

"Separate factions within the Sailor Senshi?" Seiji mused, sipping at his drink. The alcohol was loosening his formal tongue. "Does that make for good camaraderie?"

"Don't worry about them, _we_ get the job done," Haruka sniped back.

"So why are you helping us?" Shin asked, ignoring Seiji's scowl. His hands were placed under his chin as he looked at Setsuna. There was something she was hiding. He could tell.

"Because now you owe me a favor," Haruka said smartly, shrugging, "which I am now going to reclaim. How about you leave this situation alone and we'll be even."

"You're kidding," Ryo grumbled. He had already had enough of a headache from Sailor Venus, and now Haruka was acting up too? "You know we won't do that."

"Worth a try." Haruka glanced over at Hotaru, who was sitting on an armchair with her legs curled under her. Hotaru rolled her eyes and she discreetly jabbed her thumb at the door. Haruka bit back her smile, focusing back on the pow-wow at hand. She knew Michiru and Setsuna didn't like it at all, but the more time Hotaru spent with her foster papa, the more she started to act like her. Which, Haruka personally thought, was most certainly for the better—especially compared to the half-cyborg girl who only knew ridicule and loneliness.

"Why are you really helping us?"

Touma's question was very simple, but the Senshi didn't expect it. Haruka and Setsuna glanced at each other again. Hotaru leaned back, curious as what they would answer.

"In actuality, I am the one who owes you a debt," Setsuna said finally. All ears strained to hear the next words that came out. "You saved my kingdom from a threat that I was unable to take care of."

"Your kingdom?" Shin repeated, anxious. She was going to tell them—that thing she was hiding. "What do you mean?"

"Five years ago, I was stationed elsewhere." Of course, Setsuna avoided mentioning the time gates directly. "I could not leave then, as it would lead to—dire consequences. As a result, I could only watch as my kingdom was taken over by a man who wanted only power."

"No way," Touma breathed, connecting the pieces. "Five years ago—"

"I am the guardian of the underworld," Setsuna continued, meeting Shin's eyes grimly. "The realm of Hades. Otherwise known as the Youjakai. And you five saved it from ruin."

* * *

**an** okay so i know there are popular pairings out there (or lol once-popular anyway since these two anime are so old school now), but! ;; nothing really is established for now, just fun and games!

i also am really really excited to incorporate the whole Guardian of the Underworld thing with setsuna! the second i saw the youjakai i was like, "yup, this is her realm," hahahahahaha! and i do love the outers as much as i love the inners. their family dynamic is just so strong and odd and in their own little world.

next chapter, back to the inners. venus might seem irrational right now, but she has her reasons and you shall find out why!

thank you so much for reading and reviewing! muchos love to you all :)


	6. Chapter 6

**six**

It had only been a week since the school festival had been clobbered by soldiers, but the city had already repaired most of the damages. Except for a few large craters in the ground, the school looked the same as it had always been. Chibiusa had complained once she saw the progress; for the past few days, she had enjoyed lounging around and reading Usagi's manga at Mamoru's apartment.

"Considering our track record of annihilating entire blocks," Mamoru said, practically shoving her out the door as she slung her backpack on, "the government is used to it."

"You mean _our_ track records of annihilating blocks," Ami said as she gently picked Chibiusa off the ground. Chibiusa scowled, wondering when Mamoru became such a tough dad. "If I'm not mistaken, Mamoru-san, your roses have hardly needed damage control."

"Ouch, that hurts, coming from you," Mamoru said playfully. He waved the two of them away. "Take care of my girl, Ami!"

Ami and Chibiusa walked comfortably, chatting aimlessly. Not for the first time in her life, Chibiusa snuck admiring glances up at the older girl. In Crystal Tokyo, Sailor Mercury was hardly ever seen. Compared to Venus, who was the queen's personal bodyguard, or Jupiter, who was the face of public defense, Mercury kept to the inner workings of the palace. She was always too busy analyzing something in the lab; every once in awhile, however, when she did surface for dinner (alongside Mars, who had taken refuge in the palace shrine), Chibiusa couldn't help but marvel at how darn _graceful_ she just was.

And Ami—present day, boy-shy, frazzled pre-medical student—was just the same. She was perhaps a bit more wry, with a zanier sense of humor (Chibiusa always found it weird that Ami absolutely enjoyed it when other people, namely her fellow Senshi, suffered from public humiliation), but she was the one Senshi that Chibiusa secretly looked up to.

"It must be the vintage," Chibiusa said. Ami blinked, stirred from her thoughts.

"Pardon?"

"The vintage," Chibiusa repeated, looking pointedly at Ami's red flats. She remembered Minako gushing over them, and Ami calmly explaining that they had been her mother's.

Ami obviously didn't understand. And when she didn't understand something, she felt the need to ask questions until she finally did. "What do you mean by that, Chibiusa? Are you allergic to leather? Or do you perhaps just want a pair for yourself? I'm sure there are some old shops around here that sell, er, vintage, did you say? Is that what you're getting at?"

Chibiusa wondered why all of the Senshi were so odd. She quickly dismissed everything Ami had rattled at her with a quick, "Oh, here we are! Thanks for walking me, Ami, bye!" over her shoulder before she ducked through the gates of Juuban Municipal. Ami watched her go, letting a worried expression cross her face. Mamoru had only asked her to take Chibiusa to school because he had the feeling the girl was, well, afraid.

Rubeus and the Black Moon clan... Ami found it hard to believe that he was still alive, but there was no reason to not trust Makoto and Minako. They had given the remains to Setsuna (almost unwillingly, in Ami's case, because she knew a friend whose father worked in one of the research institute, and she very much would have liked to take a shot at analyzing the ashes herself), and Setsuna had promised that she would get back to them as soon as possible.

She turned away from Juuban Municipal, starting on her walk. It felt like just yesterday that she was walking through those same school gates—like just yesterday that she and the others had brought the Death Phantom down. But she knew the memory was still fresh to Chibiusa, and even though no one blamed her—Ami couldn't help but wonder if Chibiusa still blamed herself, sometimes.

Ami sighed, adjusting her high-waist skirt. As she made her way to the train station, she couldn't help but think about the series of events at the festival Minako and Makoto had recited. The boys in armor were obviously the Boys from the Roof (Plus Usagi's New Boyfriend, if Mamo-chan Never Existed), and, as far as any of the Senshi knew, none of them had anything to do with Rubeus. Of course, since Rubeus was supposed to be Dead Forever in the first place, there was nothing saying that the impossible was possible.

Ami spent the rest of the train ride playing a game on her phone. Technology was addicting, she thought. Because while years ago she would have had to fork over large sums of money at Crown Game Center in order to release her anger, the very same mind-relaxing therapy was available to her at the tips of her fingers. That, and she was growing accustomed to "playing games for fun." Must have been all the Usagi rubbing off on her.

Before she knew it, Ami was entering the lecture hall of her class. She was a little later than usual, and the rows had already started filling up. Ami put away her phone and made for the front of the room before she stopped dead still.

There was a blue head in her class. A blue head that wasn't hers—obviously not hers, as it was face-down on a desk, scrounging in a few extra minutes of sleep before class started. "Oh _dear_," Ami muttered, flopping down in the seat to her right. The boy she sat down next to gave her an odd look.

"Mizuno, don't you usually sit up front?"

"Oh, yes, I sprained my ankle yesterday, it hurts to take all the steps," Ami lied easily. He nodded at her excuse, his gaze lingering on her legs before he turned back to her friends with a grin. Ami, however, did not know she was being checked out, as she was far more concerned with that other blue head.

_What_ was he doing in her quantum mechanics class, stalking her? Then again, she might have just never noticed him before—but how possible was that, seeing as his head was _blue_? Ami pressed a hand to her lip, taking out her mini laptop with the other. Maybe he was trying to get a hold of her. That had to be it. He didn't seem like the type to be interested in physics—nor the type to make it into Tokyo University.

At that thought, she felt a bit guilty. Now was not the time to be getting a big head about her intelligence. Ami opened the laptop, typing in her password as the professor started lecture. Blah blah blah, the professor said. asdkfja;klg, Ami typed furiously, her eyes burning onto the back of the blue head (two days later, when she looked at her notes, she wondered why the whole text page was full of random letters that didn't even string together to form any words—to her embarrassment, Usagi said they resembled her own notes from high school).

The hour and a half lecture was over. Ami snapped her laptop shut and threw it into her bag; she almost furiously leapt out of her seat and made for the exit. She didn't want any confrontation with any of them; her night at the festival had already been an awkward experience. It was made worse when she ran into Michiru at the supermarket just two nights ago, and the older Senshi had asked her (teasingly, of course, in that way Michiru teased everyone about everything) who her new computer club friends were.

So Ami ran. One foot out the door, however, and she found that she was trapped.

Date Seiji stood there, looking just as surprised as she felt. "Oh, hello" he said, polite as ever. Ami cringed.

"H—hello," she mumbled, bowing. "Pardon me, I do have to be on my way—"

She brushed past him, just as Touma greeted Seiji. That, however, wasn't what made her trip over her own feet.

"Good morning, Mizuno-chan!" Minako called cheerily, waving up and down enthusiastically from across the sidewalk. Dressed in short shorts, strappy sandals and a cropped, bright shirt, she looked ready to take on the world (and all the men it had to offer). Her stride was confident as she made her way over to Ami. "You didn't forget about our date, did you?"

"D—date?" Ami stuttered, trying to avoid the eye of the public around her. Touma and Seiji were watching with dumb expressions. "Minako, what are you doing here?"

Minako whipped off her sunglass with alarming speed. She leaned in close, until their noses were almost touching. "Mizuno Ami, do you mean to tell me you forgot that we were spending _all day_ together?"

Ami blinked. Minako's eyes watered.

"I even cancelled a shoot for you," she cried out dramatically.

"M—Minako, don't cry, please," Ami said, trying to contain the situation. She really wished that Touma and Seiji would just leave instead of standing there and staring.

"I'm not _crying_," Minako wailed, throwing an arm across her forehead. "I just wanted to _spend time_ with my _favorite friend_—"

"Th—that's Rei, not me," Ami whispered desperately, hoping the change in volume would give Minako a hint. It only seemed to make her voice amplify by a thousand.

"Ami, I know you're busy with real life, but don't forsake me!"

"That's an interesting choice of words."

Seiji immediately regretted speaking. At once Minako's eyes snapped to him; he suppressed a shiver as her eyes raked him up and down. Beside him, Touma gulped. "Seiji, she's marking us."

"I know," Seiji managed to say as Minako sauntered towards them. Her hand pinched the back of Ami's shirt, dragging her over as well.

"Hello, aren't you from the recital?" Minako asked casually. The two made an odd pair, she thought. Seiji was slick and impeccable in his slacks and button-up. Touma, on the other hand, looked like he had rolled out of bed, threw on a shirt and sleep-walked to class. Both were very much her type—too bad they were also very much her personal enemy.

"Yes," Touma eventually answered, knowing that she had probably guessed that they were more than just 'from the recital.' Seiji was glancing around, looking for an escape.

"How wonderful!" Minako chirped. "My friend and I were just about to have breakfast. Would you like to join?"

They could have said no. They could have said no and walked away from her hungry stare. But Touma, being Touma, wanted answers. He had keenly picked up that Setsuna and Haruka wanted the Troopers to leave these girls alone, but subtle hints were not outright requests. He wanted to know why, just one week ago, she was so hostile to them, ready to blow off their heads with a beam of light. And now she was just standing in daylight, looking like nothing more than an average girl (well—cuter than average, anyway, but the whole on-the-prowl thing marked her more as frightening than cute) with a friendly smile.

"Of course," Touma said with a forced grin. He nudged Seiji. "This guy here's been waiting to get your number for the longest time."

"I have _not_—"

"Wonderful," Minako repeated, and they both had to shield themselves from her ecstatic expression. Ami, hanging limply in her grasp, almost shed a tear.

A half hour later, they found themselves seated in a booth in a café. Ami had focused entirely on her milkshake, ignoring every attempt Minako made to include her in the conversation. Touma was particularly impressed by her resolve.

"Man, Ami, you're so lucky," Minako was saying, playing with the straw of her own drink. "I didn't know universities had such good looking guys! Maybe I should have gone to college too, huh?"

Ami didn't even look up. Minako blinked a few times at her, smiling expectantly.

"What do you do, then, Aino-san?" Seiji asked, hoping to get on Ami's good side by leaping to her defense. From what he could tell from the festival, she was fairly logical and thoughtful. She was their best chance if they wanted answers.

"Oh, Minako's fine," Minako said, waving his formalities away (Seiji blanched). "I'm a part-time model, you know, ads and whatnot. I never really had the brains for school."

"You just needed to try, Minako," Ami finally said, glancing at her friend disapprovingly. Minako huffed.

"Easy for little miss genius to say." In a flash, she turned back to Touma and Seiji. "Did you guys know that Ami was the number one ranked high school student back in our day?"

"No way," Seiji said, looking impressed. Touma blinked, taking another glance at the distressed Ami. He had assumed that she was somewhat of a smart girl, what with the way she always sat in the front of class. But a genius? She looked embarrassed, playing with the sleeve of her shirt.

"That was a long time ago," Ami mumbled, clearing her throat. She made to quickly change the subject. "Did you two get home without trouble, by the way? After the way the festival ended up..."

"We managed," Touma said swiftly.

"I hope there was no problem for you," Seiji added in. Ami smiled suddenly, the corners of her eyes crinkling.

"Of course not. Living in Tokyo, we have to be used to those kinds of things."

"You mean, weird soldiers piling out of the sky?" Seiji and Touma shared an amused look, as if to say, 'yeah, right,' but to them it was more, 'oh, we know all about that.'

"Maybe not soldiers," Minako piped up, holding a finger in the air, "but you know, the Sailor Senshi have been battling monsters for, like, _ages_ now."

"That's funny. We've never really heard of Sailor Senshi outside of Tokyo." Touma was sure this was why Minako had asked them along to breakfast. Reconnaissance on the weird boys. It was smart of Mizuno, he thought, to maneuver the conversation in this direction. He, however, wasn't going to give in so easily. "I'm from Osaka, and Seiji here is from Miyagi."

"Imagine the shock we got at discovering the idea of girls in mini-skirts being local heroes," Seiji drawled. Minako's smile stiffened.

"Not a fan of skirts, Seiji?" she chose to say. A small feeling of satisfaction bubbled up when she saw his eyebrow twitch at her casualness. "I, for one, think they're great."

"The Senshi or the skirts?" Seiji replied, an edge to his voice. Minako didn't pick up on his sarcasm.

"Both, of course. Those girls are something to be admired. They've been protecting Tokyo for years now, and if they have to do it in skirts, then power to them."

Ami made a slight face, wondering if Minako knew just how boastful she sounded. They were practically giving themselves away (although Rei, at the festival, had them beat, with the way she was spouting off her spooky mind powers like it was a normal thing). She glanced up at Seiji, noting the annoyance in his expression. She therefore wasn't surprised when he asked, "So then what of the people outside of Tokyo? Do they mean nothing to these Senshi?"

"I'm sure if there were disturbances elsewhere, they would be on it," Minako said flippantly. "Sailor V, she was in like London for awhile—"

"I'm talking about the rest of Japan." Seiji's mouth was in a thin line as he looked at the girl in front of him. Ryo was right; she really was a stubborn girl.

"I've seen some weird things," Touma said, looking from Ami to Minako. "In Osaka, I mean. Monsters that no girl in a skirt came to take care of."

"Like she said," Ami said smoothly, "the Sailor Senshi have been busy in Tokyo. Perhaps one abnormality might be big talk in Osaka, but here, in Tokyo, it's quite frequent."

"Really?" Touma tried very hard not to sound condescending, but it was difficult to do when the facts were right there. "This is my second year in Tokyo. These monsters only started showing up now."

"Do you see news reports on soldiers invading Osaka daily?" Minako asked, raising an eyebrow. "I'm just trying to point out that you might think Sailor Senshi are ridiculous, but Tokyo probably would have been destroyed long ago—"

"So it's okay for them to just ignore the rest of Japan?" Touma couldn't understand where Minako's logic was coming from. Even Mizuno looked faintly bothered.

"They're not ignoring the rest of Japan. How do you expect them to protect the whole world—"

"If they're not superheroes, then they shouldn't claim to be." Seiji's gaze clashed with Minako's. She was genuinely angry, he saw—and maybe offended. But he wasn't here to give her any sympathy. He was here to get answers. "I find it hard to believe that they fight for good when they suddenly appear at the same time as these new monsters—"

"I know what you're doing," Ami said sharply. All eyes turned to her; Minako's mouth tightened at the sight of her friend looking so affronted. "And if I might say so, it's very rude of you to try to goad us like this."

"I apologize," Seiji murmured, but Touma spoke over him.

"Well it was rude of Aino here to refuse our help when she needed it at the festival."

Minako didn't back down. "You had no business being there—"

"The two of you were being beat up by that floating guy," Touma countered. Ami sighed, rubbing her temple.

"This really isn't the time for a discussion like this—"

"You know what?" Minako said, her voice hard. Ami knew this voice—despised it, because the owner was not a young girl but a jaded soul. "Game's up. You guys were right, what you said on the roof. I _am_ a Sailor Senshi. And no, I'm not a superhero. I'm just a girl who's been trying to fight evil since I was twelve. So where the hell have you guys been?"

Seiji and Touma wordlessly stared at her. They knew she would cave in eventually—but they didn't expect her to look so hurt. And being a Sailor Senshi since she was _twelve_?

"You can't just storm in here and expect us to trust you," Minako—Venus, leader of the guardian Senshi, said. "You want to help? Then stay out of our way, just like you've been doing for the past seven years."

Seiji opened his mouth—maybe to apologize—but the waiter had come over to set down their food. Ami thanked him with a slight smile, but Minako stood up.

"Can you box it up and drop it off later, Ami? I'm leaving."

She fished into her purse and dropped a few bills. The three still seated watched her go. Touma heaved a sigh, not having expected the conversation to go that way. He and Seiji had been planning to woo the Senshi onto their side, somehow—not push them away.

"You know," Touma said, picking up his fork. "We've always wondered why we were alone, too. Five years ago—you probably don't remember—but Shinjuku—"

"It was taken hostage, by an evil with the goal of taking of the world," Seiji finished, watching Ami carefully. She was looking at her food, a frown on her lips. "Almost destroyed. And the Sailor Senshi weren't there to help."

"I do apologize," Ami said at once. Her words, however, sounded genuine. A small breath of air left her lips as she met their gazes. "Although five years ago is when we, too, were faced with trouble."

They were silent for a moment before they started picking at their food. Touma held himself back for at least a minute before he started scarfing down his meal. He had ordered two plates; if Ami was curious about it, she wisely said nothing. Seiji, however, tsked.

"It's a wonder you're not fat."

"Metabolism," was all Touma said before he moved onto his second plate. They were a bit surprised when Ami started laughing; this made Touma slow down, just a bit, in embarrassment.

"I don't necessarily disagree with Minako," Ami said, placing her fork down. "But at the same time, I don't think being hostile will get us anywhere."

"No, it won't," Seiji agreed. So he was right about her. She was a thinker.

"Maybe another time, you could tell me about the events in Shinjuku." Ami wiped at her mouth with her napkin. "And if I believe in your integrity, in exchange, I could tell you about Point D."

"Point D?" Touma and Seiji exchanged looks again.

"Depending on what you tell me," Ami said almost excitedly as she brought her milkshake over to the other side of her plate, "I might have a theory as to why I don't remember Shinjuku. I'm sure Minako has already considered it."

"No one else remembers," Seiji said uncertainly, but Touma was staring at her with a keen eye.

"I'm not like everyone else, of course," Ami said, her small little smile unwavering.

"I'm curious about your theory, Mizuno." Touma stacked his plates on top of each other. "Seiji here has class, but I'm free for the rest of the day. Are you—"

"Unfortunately not," Ami said, grabbing her purse. "But how is tomorrow? For both of you."

"Fine," Touma said. Seiji nodded as well.

"Perfect."

In the back of her mind, though, the thought of Minako's angry face lingered. She had never seen the other Senshi act that way, not even in the face of danger. Was it really such a burden to her, being leader of the guardian Senshi? She made a note to talk to her later—and maybe even include the others. Or perhaps, before that, she would have a word with Artemis—unless, of course, Artemis was too busy with whatever schemes he and Luna were concocting at the command center.

"We'll need to devise a strategy," Luna had said once she heard that Rubeus was back. Ami then spent two days debating whether or not she had enough time to juggle her studious life as well as the Senshi life—and when she found that it would be nearly impossible, she dropped all her schedules for tutoring and cram session.

The three of them paid for their meals (Seiji forked over extra money for Minako's boxed food, despite Ami's protesting as Minako had left them money) before they parted ways. Seiji was heading back to campus, and Ami and Touma were heading to the train station.

"For love and justice," Ami mumbled to herself as she trudged beside him. He glanced over, eyebrows furrowed.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

Ami smiled nervously as he shrugged it off. Oh dear, she thought. The others were going to have a field day with this.

x

"I really don't have time for this," was all Rei said as she looked at the three young men at the bottom of the steps. Her face, however, told them that if they didn't part like the sea to let her through to the sidewalk, she was going to slap them with her bag. Ryo wondered if she would really do that, right in front of a parliament building.

"We mean no harm," Shin said honestly. Rei's sharp gaze looked him over once before she sighed.

"You're stalking me," she said, waving Shuu aside. He gaped at her dismissive gesture but took a big step to the left nonetheless. Ryo and Shin exchanged amused (if not subtly incredulous) looks as they followed after her.

"It's not stalking, really, when your face is on the cover of the biggest political magazine," Shin said. Ryo and Shuu had decided that they would let him do all the talking. Who in their right mind could say no to an adorable guy like Shin? "Do you mind?"

"A bit," Rei said bluntly, although she knew exactly what magazine he was talking about. Her father was on some new stint since elections were coming up. What better to appeal to the masses than to pretend to coddle his Shinto priestess daughter? Perhaps that magazine was how Touma knew to connect her to the parliament building... Rei, deep in thought, flipped her hair over her shoulders. Seconds later, a nearby distracted man walked into incoming traffic, causing a car to swerve right into a pole. Shin wondered if that happened often around her. "But I guess I can humor you."

"Thank you," Shin said as Shuu tried to make the connection between sweet friendly Usagi and this not-quite-rude young woman. "We were just wondering if you could answer some of our questions—"

"As I said before, I don't have time for this." Rei paused at the crosswalk, glancing back at Shin. He didn't seem the least bit put off. "I'm busy."

"Anything we can do?" Shuu asked, trying to squeeze in a bit of dignity, despite the fact that he already decided that he didn't like her. Ryo rolled his eyes and Shin gave him a look to take a step back, but Rei suddenly whirled around to face him. They all tried not to gape at her smile—small, but beautiful, and most likely rare, especially to sort-of strangers like them.

"Actually, if you don't mind—"

"We'll gladly help," Ryo piped up as Shin nodded in support.

An hour later, they regretted ever offering their assistance as they cleaned the Hikawa shrine inside out. Ryo placed the blame mostly on Shuu, as Shuu had been the one to open his big fat mouth in the first place. Shin seemed to be trying to take their predicament in good spirits, but every once in awhile, Ryo caught him cursing under his breath at a persistent stain.

"You missed a spot."

Ryo glanced up to see Rei, who had been sitting on the edge of the floor with a book in her lap. His eyes zoned in on the text and he realized it was some shoujo manga. This whole time they were on their hands and knees, trying to scrub a year's worth of scum off the shrine floor, and she was reading _manga_? He continued staring until she finally glanced over at him. Their eyes locked onto each other.

"It's right there," Rei said, pointing at the obvious missed spot. Ryo snapped out his towel and scrubbed at it viciously, his fiery gaze never leaving hers. She blinked, though not unnerved, before she set the manga down. "Sanada—"

"Here, Ryo, let me help you with that," Shin said, grabbing the towel and snapping Ryo out of his silent but angry tirade. "Why don't you sweep?"

"Shuu's sweeping," Ryo said, finally looking away from Rei, who had started to frown.

"Shuu is making a mess," Shin corrected. He winked at his friend, nudging him. "Go and help him out, will you?"

"Whatever you say," Ryo grumbled as he trudged away. Shin went to work on the spot, aware that Rei's eyes were watching him. Briefly, he understood why Touma had volunteered to track her the first time down. She was cute, but all the Senshi were—Rei, however, had an air around her, one that beckoned close—but not too close. He sat back after a moment, slinging the towel over his shoulder.

"Thank you," Rei said before she picked up the manga and turned a page. The corner of Shin's lip lifted.

"You're welcome," he said, and he continued to wipe down the floors.

After another hour, Ryo, Shuu and Shin all sat side-by-side, sucking at juice boxes as they watched Rei finish the sweeping job. Shuu crushed his empty juice box and reached for another. "She's horrible," he said.

"She's not _horrible_," Shin admonished. "She gave us juice."

"Why are all the hot ones horrible?" Shuu continued to say, as if Shin had never spoken. He tilted his head, watching (checking her out) as she paused in her sweeping to glance at the stone stairway. A minute later, the familiar figure of Sailor Jupiter (no, Makoto, wasn't it?) jogged up. Ryo nudged Shin, who had been caught in a daydream of surfing the ocean.

"Hey, Rei! Cleaning duties again? You don't seem—"

Makoto cut herself off short as she stared at the three young men sitting side by side. Shin offered a wave. She returned it feebly before giving Rei a very confused look.

"Rei, what," was all she managed to get out.

"Slaves," Rei said happily, oblivious to Makoto's bemused stare. She clasped her hands around the broomstick, grinning. From their angle, the three Troopers saw the delight in her eyes. Shuu's straw dangled from his open mouth. "Now I don't have to get married!"

"Er, you know," Makoto said hesitantly, glancing back at the three apprehensively, "we were just joking about that, Rei, it's actually illegal—"

"Slaves?!" Shuu hissed at Shin, who blinked rapidly. "You still can't think she's not horrible—"

"Slaves," Ryo repeated, shaking his head. "Women, they're all crazy—"

"Don't be silly, Mako-chan," Rei said, waving her friend's concern away. She cast Ryo a sly look—one Shin noticed, but the other two missed. So she _did _have a sense of humor, however odd it was. "Of course I know that, I'm just preparing for when my father's elected to whatever-it-is-he's-running-for and makes it legal."

Makoto cocked her head to the side. "I honestly can't tell if you're joking or not."

Rei shrugged. She glanced over at them again, trying not to laugh at their baffled expressions. "Anyway, did you need something?"

"Right." Makoto shook her head, playing with the strap of her bag. "Listen, it's about Minako..."

They were whispering now. Shuu and Ryo were still trying to shake the image of a barren future run by Rei Hino clones, but Shin was aptly trying to listen in. Makoto wasn't very good as being discreet; her words carried over easily.

"—and I have no idea why she was acting that way, the other day she was gushing at how hot they are and then, boom, 'get out of my way or I'll crescent beam you,' and you somehow are able to get her, so I figure before I confront her..." Makoto trailed off, biting her lip. She glanced over at the Troopers again; Shin quickly looked down at his juice box, trying to seem oblivious. "Er, you really think it's safe bringing them here?"

"If they wanted to kill me by now they would have," Rei said uncaringly. She frowned, looking over at the sun that was well on its way to setting. She didn't exactly trust these Boys from the Roof—but she didn't _distrust_ them either. And if Phobos and Deimos hadn't started pecking at their faces by now, Rei figured there was no real harm. "I don't know why everyone comes to me with Minako's problems. I thought we figured out by now that she's dense."

Makoto shrugged one shoulder. "I think this whole Rubeus thing just has everyone on edge."

"Including you?"

Makoto looked at Rei before quickly finding another target to stare at. Too late; in that brief second where green met violet, she saw that Rei already knew Makoto's interests honestly lay elsewhere. "I'm that easy to read?" she asked sheepishly.

"You just don't seem concerned that these soldiers were after you." Rei leaned on the broomstick thoughtfully.

"I can handle myself."

"That, and I'm pretty sure you've mentioned a few times how they each remind you of your senpai."

Makoto blushed, scratching her cheek. "Can you blame me?"

"I'll admit, they are some very hard-working slaves." Rei let a breath of air pucker her lips before she started sweeping again. Makoto didn't even know what she was trying to clean; obviously dirt on the ground was going to be there as long as the wind blew.

"It's weird that they came from out of nowhere. But they were willing to help, at the festival," Makoto said hesitantly. She remembered, clearly, the way the one in red armor had managed to lay scratches on Rubeus. He was strong, she realized at once. They were all strong, and she hoped they were allies—but it had taken Uranus to be able to take care of the threat, and that was after the threat had been pummeled with attack after attack. "I've never seen Minako so upset."

Rei paused. "You know she gets like this. Every once in awhile. We all do."

_Like this_. Makoto understood at once what was troubling their leader; she rolled her eyes, placing her hands on her hips. "She was being over dramatic, though, and it almost cost us our lives."

Shin wondered if they even cared about being quiet anymore. Ryo and Shuu both stopped fighting over the last juice box and looked over at the two young women curiously. "What's happening?"

"Shh," Shin said, quieting them with a finger.

"You don't ever wish you were normal, Mako?"

The question drove a stake right in Shin's heart. He waited, with bated breath, for the answer.

"Sometimes," Makoto admitted. "But not since the Dead Moon Circus. You?"

"Not since the Dead Moon Circus," Rei repeated, answering her. Her sweeping motion stopped, and she smiled at Makoto. "We wouldn't be friends, if that were the case."

Makoto made a sound of agreement. Ami had said the same thing, once, long ago. The two young women were still as a breeze rustled through the shrine. Ryo cast his eyes up at the sky; the brilliant red sunset was slowly subsiding into violet. Two crows from a nearby tree launched into the air. "They're not much different from us," he murmured.

"Guess not," Shuu agreed half-heartedly.

The three of them did nothing more than sit as Rei and Makoto approached them. Rei set the broom against a pillar, taking in their solemn expressions. "Does this mean you're ready to get back to work?"

Shuu immediately balked. Before he could protest, Makoto started laughing nervously. "Come on, Rei, don't scare them off—"

"It's not my fault men can't stand up for themselves," Rei said nonchalantly, crossing her arms. Shin cringed as Ryo leapt to his feet.

"We were just trying to be polite," he snapped, his gaze taking no mercy on her. She seemed unfazed. "And you haven't answered any of our questions, for that matter."

"Questions?" Makoto rubbed her elbow, wondering why she was so fidgety. Oh, that's right, because she was an absolutely horrible liar. The more they avoided these questions, the better her sanity was going to be. Although she did wonder how much greater she would feel if she just punched the black haired boy in the face. His tone of voice was getting on her nerves.

"Yes, a few," Shin said, taking her attention away from Ryo. He put on his best smile. "Hino-san said it was alright, but if it's a bother to you—"

Darn that boy. Minako was right; he really was the cute one. "Well, how about, you know, I whip up dinner first, since I'm sure this crazy girl has been working you boys to death. Is that okay, Rei?"

"We don't want to intrude any further," Shin said hesitantly, although Shuu thought it was a brilliant idea.

"It's fine," Rei said coolly. She took out the little book from the folds of her sweater. "I could finish this by tonight, anyway."

"You're reading manga?" Makoto asked, astonished.

"Usagi's."

"I can tell, the spine's worn and that's her favorite."

"It isn't very good," Rei said in a tone that sounded like she was trying to convince herself she really felt that way.

"If you say so. Your grandfather won't mind if I use the kitchen?" Makoto was already on her way inside; in actuality, the farther away she was from the Troopers, the better her mind started to work when she wasn't pressured to be so slick and sly with her identity.

"He'd rather starve than miss out on your cooking," Rei quipped. When she turned back to the three young men, her face was serious as ever—but there was something in her eyes that was too grim for them to get a grasp on. Ryo felt like these were the same eyes that had told him to be careful, a week ago at the festival. "You realize we have questions of our own."

"Of course you do," Shin said respectfully, nodding.

"But there's one that Makoto doesn't need to hear."

Shuu regarded Rei for a moment. He had written her off first as the stuck-up child of a politician, then as a crazy crow-loving shrine lady—but in front of them, at that moment, he had to admit that she was a warrior. She had more in common with his own self than he would have liked to acknowledge—at the top of the list was the duty to protect the world that never gave back.

"Please, ask ahead," Shin encouraged her, his tone of voice as grave as her gaze.

"Your friend Hashiba, when he first encountered me. He mentioned his interest in the Imperial Regalia. Was that just a ploy to speak with me, or—"

"Touma's a big fan of mysteries," Shuu said, not caring that he interrupted her. "Seeing as I don't know anything about it, he probably was just dorking around."

"Why do you ask?"

Rei turned her eyes onto Ryo. Minako's voice rang through her mind. _One of them had the power of fire_.

"Hino?"

"Because they exist, I think, and they're powerful. If—whoever is behind all of this figures out where they are, then we might be doomed."

The three of them stared at her cryptic words. Crazy crow-loving shrine lady was coming back, Shuu thought. Shin, however, was concerned with something else. "And why do you not want your friend to know?"

Rei was a bit startled at his question. Really, out of all the things to ask... How was she supposed to explain that ever since Touma had mentioned the Imperial Regalia, she had started dreaming again? It was if his words had been a key to unlock the box that contained her nightmares—nightmares of the garnet orb being used to tear down cities, the aqua mirror trapping civilians in the underworld, the space sword slicing through—

"Hino-san? You're pale. Are you okay?"

It was Shuu who placed his hands on the small of her back, guiding her to sit. Ryo hovered a bit, unsure of what to do. "Can I get you anything?" he asked hesitantly. He really couldn't make up his mind if he liked this girl or not.

"I'm fine," Rei mumbled. "Just hungry. That's all."

Neither of them bought it. Shin smiled softly. "If you're sure..."

"I'm sure," Rei said in a stronger voice. She flicked her hair over her shoulder; briefly, Shin was reminded of the minor accident in front of the parliament building as he watched Ryo's eyes trace her movements. Like a moth to a flame, he thought. "Anyway, Makoto's better off just worrying about the present. Don't mention it to her."

Because no one else had to know that every night, Rei relived the horror of witnessing the space sword slice through the Sailor Senshi as the world around them crumbled.

"For love and justice," Rei added in flatly, ignoring the peculiar looks the Troopers gave her.

"Crazy crow-loving shrine lady," Shuu whispered to Ryo, who only nodded dumbly in agreement.

* * *

**an** the hikawa jinja slave is a reference to the manga during the pegasus act where minako tells rei she should consider getting married anyway so she could have someone slave around the shrine while she just chills around -.-; those girls lmao. anyway! if it seems that makoto is awkward and not very makoto-like, it might be because i'm not sure how to write makoto in a makoto-like way. haha! ;; i'm trying!

also, rewatching sailor moon, now that i'm older and can appreciate fashion... ami wears the cutest stuff ;; i want everything of hers! and nothing of touma's bc his fashion sense sucks.

enjoy, and thank you for reviewing!


	7. Chapter 7

**seven**

Makoto stared at the three boys, not quite sure if she believed what they had said. "So basically, this guy named Kaos made your—your armor things—"

"Our old ones," Shuu interrupted. "Although I'm not really sure where the new ones come from."

He turned to the other two for confirmation. They both shrugged helpfully.

"I need a second to let it all sink in," Makoto said, leaning back on one arm. The chabudai they were gathered around was full of empty bowls and plates. With her free hand, she grabbed her drink. When Shin had learned that Makoto was indeed serious about cooking for them, he had rushed down the street to find a vending machine to at least buy drinks. Sweet guy, Makoto had mentioned to Rei. Sure, Rei had said, utterly distracted by the way Shuu was annihilating his dinner.

"I find our history to be more believable than reincarnated moon soldiers," Ryo quipped. He had meant for it to be a joke (which Makoto got, and she had to decide if she appreciated it or not), but Rei subtly rolled her eyes.

"Planetary soldiers who protect the moon princess," she corrected dryly. Ryo blinked.

"Isn't that the same—"

"I believe it," Shin cut him off, smiling at Rei. She immediately turned away, unfazed. "I think if you wanted to lie, you would have chosen something more probable."

"Yeah, that's true," Makoto mumbled, tracing circles on the condensation gathered around her can. She was starting to regret the whole pow wow; the more those boys talked, the more she found herself liking them. Which, of course, would not Fly Well with Minako. Then again, Minako _was_ being too emotionally invested. Usagi, on the other hand, would have jumped for joy. They all knew their princess was secretly wishing with all her heart that the Boys from the Roof were on the side of love and justice.

"So Usagi's a princess, huh," Shuu said, copying Makoto's pose in an attempt to get more comfortable. He stretched his legs out in front of him, sighing. "Who would've figured, huh?"

"It's not like you're the spokesperson for protector of the world," Ryo said. He grinned and ducked Shuu's swinging arm. "You know it's true—"

"And why's that?!"

"You don't have brains!"

Shin shook his head, as Shuu managed to land a hit on Ryo's shoulder. "I apologize for them, they're always like this."

"Nah, it's funny."

There she went again, thinking these guys were okay. Makoto finished the rest of her canned juice, avoiding Rei's slight glance. She didn't need the priestess to tell her she was being too friendly; besides, wasn't it Rei who had practically invited them over to answer their questions? In the whole time they were interrogating each other, it had been Makoto who told them about the Silver Millenium, about Beryl and the Black Moon clan, about Death Busters and the Dead Moon Circus and the galaxy cauldron.

So really, if Rei wanted to pick a fight, she couldn't.

"So," Shin continued, looking unbothered by the silence that had filled that room, "do you have any more questions?"

"What are you not telling us?"

All eyes fell on Rei. Makoto opened her mouth before she closed it. Their story seemed valid enough. Shin had gone through how they each found their armors, how they came together and defeated Arago, how they were targeted and dragged to New York and Los Angeles, and how they lost the Kikoutei in battle but gained the new armors from Suzunagi. The same logic applied to them—if they wanted to lie, they probably would have picked a better story than Magical Armors of Good.

"What do you mean by that?" Shuu asked flatly.

"I mean exactly that. What are you not telling us?"

For some reason, Rei's gaze was locked onto Ryo's. Oh dear, Makoto thought, because she understood exactly why. In the two hours she had actually spoken to him, she concluded that Ryo was everything Rei was not—carefree and reckless with his words and attitude. He seemed, however, like a flame—_like_ Rei, funny enough—in that sometimes he was orange, red—bright and energetic—but with the right action or word against him, he was blue, dark— burning and angry.

"You should be a little more specific," Ryo said, not offended. He appeared to have finally not taken Rei's blunt personality to heart. Quite an accomplishment compared to when she was slaving him around. Good thing, too, because Makoto found him to be much more pleasant when he wasn't angry.

"You know something we don't," Rei said, finally looking over at Shuu. "You came here to get us to trust you. I think you should at least be honest."

Shuu looked utterly lost. "What are we _hiding_—"

"Sailor Pluto didn't want us to contact you."

Makoto raised her eyebrows at Shin. "Come again?"

"Setsuna doesn't want to involve you," Shin said quietly, looking not at them but at his empty dish. Rei and Makoto tensed at his familiar usage of her personal name. Shuu's look of confusion faded away as his mouth opened in realization. "The guardian Senshi, she called you guys."

"When did you meet with her?"

"The night of Juuban's festival." Shin put a thumb to his lip, a bit lost in thought. "She seemed worried that we would put you in danger. It was implied that this—situation—is none of your business."

"Please explain," Rei said, leaning forward slightly. Makoto was frowning by now.

"I'm just assuming, of course," Shin added quickly. "But they—Haruka and Setsuna—they seemed to want us to understand that there were two different groups. Yours and theirs. And this situation dealt more with theirs."

Makoto glanced down at her lap, brows furrowed. That sounded like Haruka and Setsuna alright, but only if it were four years ago. They had all come to an understanding, hadn't they? So why the sudden change of heart?

"This isn't…" Shin trailed off, biting his lip. He looked almost guilty. "It's not my place to say. I hope you will ask Setsuna if you wish to know more."

"We will," Rei said. And then, unexpectedly, she smiled at him. He blinked, taken aback by the sudden gesture. "I believe you as well."

Shuu muttered something under his breath. Makoto gave him an odd look, thinking it sounded a bit like 'lazy cow herding lady.'

"So where do we go from here?"

That was Ryo, who was sitting cross-legged with his elbows on his knees. His own smile was rakish. Makoto cringed, feeling her heart want to skip a beat. Really, she needed a boyfriend—otherwise she'd be jumping at every good-looking guy out there (the current strategy? She and Minako took turns). "I don't know," Makoto admitted. She heaved a large sigh, making to clear the plates. "At least we know you're not, I dunno, our sons from the future or something."

Shuu squinted at her. Weird gigantic yankee girl, he called her in his mind. Before he could (stupidly) say it out loud, the door to the room slid open. Hotaru, still in her school uniform, paused at the scene in front of her. A large volume of books were grasped under one arm. "Is this a bad time?" she asked politely, giving Makoto and Rei a pointed stare.

"Of course not," Rei said, motioning her in. If she noticed Hotaru raising her eyebrows or thinning her lips, she made no sign. Hotaru took a few steps forward before she set the books down. They were the rest of the set of manga that Rei had been reading.

"From Usagi-san," she explained. "I was just over, visiting Chibiusa, and your place was on the way home—"

Makoto picked up a manga. Rei set the rest aside. "Thank you, Hotaru—"

"No problem," Hotaru said, her tone flat.

Silence followed. Hotaru and Rei were both staring at each other, saying nothing. Different shades of violet clashed—Rei's fiery gaze against Hotaru's stormy eyes. Shuu caught Makoto's attention and widened his eyes. She shrugged, indicating she had no idea. She did suspect, however, that it had something to do with Shin, Shuu and Ryo—especially if Setsuna wanted everything to be kept a secret.

It was, surprisingly, Rei who looked away. She hardly seemed unsettled. Her next question was directed towards the Troopers. "Is there anything else I can get you?"

Shin spoke up. "Do we trust each other now?"

Rei pursed her lips as Makoto cringed and answered, "Trust is a rather strong word, don't you think? I mean, we believe you, but I don't think..."

Makoto trailed off, seeing the understanding look in Shin's eyes. Shuu, however, sighed loudly. "I don't really want to team up with you guys, but you seem to know about this enemy. And the youja soldiers are familiar to us, so I don't think we really have a choice."

"We'll have to speak with the others," Rei said, nodding her head. Shuu seemed surprised that she was agreeing with him. Hotaru puckered up her lips but made no other comment.

"Isn't it late for a high school girl to be out?" Ryo asked pointedly, giving Hotaru an amused glance.

"Are you offering to walk me back then?"

Ryo's expression twitched at her quip. At their meeting a week ago, she hadn't said much to the Troopers and Nasuti; in fact, the only time she had spoken was to offer more tea. He assumed she was reserved, much like when he had first met her, with the youja soldiers in front of the flower shop. Then again, he thought the same thing of Seiji; it was only after living with him did Ryo finally pick up on Seiji's quirks. The fact that Seiji liked his food to be three different colors, for example.

"That's a wonderful idea," Rei said curtly. Makoto had the suspicion that Rei wanted to get rid of Hotaru as fast as she could. "Sanada, I'm sure you don't mind?"

Makoto agreed. "Right, Hotaru, we can't have you walking around in the dark—"

Hotaru's serious expression fell; she looked almost annoyed. "I was just joking, I'll be fine—"

"Listen, Michiru would kill us if she found out we let you go home by yourself," Makoto continued, stretching her arms above her head. "This guy's pretty strong, so if anything happens, you guys will be fine."

Ryo wasn't sure if he felt complimented or burdened. He glanced at Shin, who, of course, looked like he thought it was a wonderful idea. It was Shuu who spoke up. "We'll let Seiji know where you're at."

"Thanks," Ryo grumbled, getting to his feet. He made his way towards Hotaru before suddenly turning around and bowing to Rei and Makoto. "Thanks for your hospitality."

Makoto grinned toothily. Rei didn't even bat an eyelash.

"What a gentleman," Shuu commented as Ryo dragged his feet after Hotaru.

It was only after five minutes down the dimly lit sidewalk did Hotaru finally say something. "You really don't have to."

Ryo stuck his hands in his pockets, shrugging. "It's nothing."

"I wasn't thanking you."

He squinted one eye at the girl beside him, opening his mouth to retort before he realized she was almost smiling. Great, he thought, a high schooler was flirting with him. He decided to swiftly change the subject. "So you guys never told us how you close those holes."

Hotaru stopped walking. She turned to face Ryo so abruptly that he almost ran into her. "We're soldiers from the outer rim of the galaxy," she said evenly. "We have that power, it's our duty. But Rei-san and Makoto-san don't. You really shouldn't have wasted your time with them—"

"What is with this whole division?" Ryo asked, eyebrows raised. He stepped around her, continuing to walk in the direction he assumed her home was. "Is this like a rivalry or what?"

"Nothing like that, of course." Hotaru was right behind him, her footsteps echoing his. He glanced over his shoulder to see her bite her lip thoughtfully. "They've gotten stronger since they first started out, but they haven't fought for so long and their powers have been resting..."

"Makoto seems tough," Ryo said, glancing back in front of him.

"She is."

"But you guys are tougher?"

"Yes."

There was nothing confident or cocky about her answer. It was a simple statement. Ryo wondered. Jupiter and Venus had struggled in taking down the red-haired flying man, but he could tell that they were strong. How did the other Senshi compare to them? He had partially witnessed Uranus's attack, but that was in combination with Touma's.

"We watch out for them," Hotaru added suddenly. He furrowed his brows.

"Don't you think that they can handle themselves? I mean, from what they told me, they've fought against super powerful evil queens and survived."

"I think we both understand that this new development is more than just 'super powerful evil queens.'"

Ryo sighed. She was right. Haruka had hinted that she thought the appearance of both groups' old enemies meant there was someone strong enough to revive them. But who? And what if this someone decided to resurrect Arago? If only there was a way to contact the Youjakai...

The street seemed to stretch on forever. With his luck, they would be attacked before they made it to Hotaru's home. That made him pause in his thoughts. Why was it that he was living with his guard up? He was _expecting_ to be ambushed, as if it were a war. Although from what Setsuna had mentioned, it might as well have been war...

The footsteps had stopped following him. Ryo turned around to see Hotaru just watching him.

"Is something wrong?"

Hotaru continued to stay silent, tilting her head. An odd look crossed her eyes as he retraced his steps to her. It unnerved him.

"Tomoe—"

"It's nothing." The corner of Hotaru's lip slightly lifted again. He wondered if that was how she regularly smiled—guarded, like clouds trying to blanket the sun.

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure." She finally decided to walk beside him again. Ryo noticed their height difference. Unlike Nasuti, the only girl he really associated with, Hotaru was short. She could have probably fit right under his arm if he wanted. Not like he was going to actually try.

"So you don't like Jun?" Ryo suddenly asked. He looked at Hotaru, surprised to see annoyance bloom on her face.

"I never said that," she said, almost pouting. Ryo found that he liked that better—that she was childish, just as girls her age were supposed to be. That she was more than fighting and protecting and strength—that, unlike him, she had found a balance between life and saving the world.

"You called him a worm," Ryo pointed out, clearing his thoughts.

"He _is_ one!"

"You sure you're not jealous? You don't want him to yourself?" Ryo egged, wiggling his eyebrows at her. She wrinkled her nose, slapping his arm.

"Of course not," Hotaru grumbled, casting him a dry look. "Although now I see where he gets his pestering behavior from—"

"Are you calling me annoying?" Ryo joked, stretching his arms in the air. "You are just like Seiji."

Hotaru's laugh was infectious. Ryo found himself chuckling as the two slowed down their pace to catch their breath. The lamp post above them shone like a beacon through the dark night; Hotaru shook her head, trying to shake the mental image of her with Seiji's haircut. It wasn't even that funny. "I am _nothing_ like him—"

"You sure? He thinks Jun's a punk, too—"

"But my bone structure is completely different from his—"

Ryo stared. "Who talks about _bone structure_?"

"I do," Hotaru huffed, pouting again. He wondered if she knew that she did that—or maybe that was her go-to look when she wanted something. He had seen her use it on Haruka that night of the festival, to get her to make more tea. It had Worked Like a Charm.

"Okay, okay, your bone structure is off. You'd look horrible with his face anyway," Ryo added, sticking his hands in his pockets and looking upwards innocently. "Good thing you're you."

Why was he making no sense at all? His face still turned upwards, he glanced down at Hotaru. She was half smiling again, her own gaze cast down the street. It was odd, he thought, because at that particular moment in time, she seemed—old. Older than him, than the stars above their heads, than the dust around their bodies. She turned her stare to him.

"Sanada..."

"Ryo's fine."

Hotaru hesitated. "Ryo."

"What's up?" His voice was casual, but his soul felt weary, as if he knew what she were going to say. But the moment was fleeting, because Hotaru took in a deep breath and shook her head.

"Nothing. It's nothing."

"That's the second time you've done that. If there's something I need to know—"

"It's nothing," Hotaru repeated quietly, stopping his temper from boiling over the top. He sighed, turning away and starting to walk again. He hadn't even realized they'd stopped. "I was just going to say, it's nice."

Nice? Ryo paused mid-step. "What is?"

"Having—a friend. Someone other than the Senshi." He fully faced her again to find her looking embarrassed. "This is nice. Thank you."

"Yeah," Ryo said dumbly. "No problem."

Hotaru cleared her throat, shoving her hands in the pockets of her skirt. She moved past him quickly. "You kind of suck at walking me home, though, it's way past my bedtime—"

"Excuse me, you're the one who stopped," Ryo accused, following after her. "I'm not taking any responsibility, Haruka and I are on good terms now."

"That's what you think," Hotaru said cryptically, giving him a mischievous glance. "Imagine how she's going to react when you show up on the doorstep with her baby daughter at such a late hour."

"She's going to shake my hand and say, 'Great job Sanada, I knew I could count on you to take care of my troublesome daughter.'"

Hotaru started giggling again, bowing her head to the ground in an attempt to hide her amusement. Ryo's grin easily came back onto his lips. If only Touma saw him now, getting along with someone other than the Troopers... She was right. It _was_ nice. He had, for the longest time, felt almost estranged from the rest of the society. They didn't know what it was like to have the world on their shoulders. His old classmates couldn't understand why he was so protective of the other Troopers. He even felt that sometimes Nasuti thought he was taking himself too seriously.

And even though he knew nothing about her past, or how she came to be a Senshi, or why she was absent when Arago took over—Ryo felt that maybe Hotaru understood.

That thought solidified a thousand times in his mind as the ground right in front of them shattered into a million pieces. Hotaru leapt back, colliding with his chest as his arms gripped hers. They only stared for half a second longer; then they both jumped to the side, Ryo clutching his yoroi ball. Hotaru held her arm out and a large pole-arm with a wicked blade materialized.

In the brief seconds that Ryo changed into his armor, Hotaru had swiped out with her glaive into the shadows. The ground around them continued to crumble, as if an invisible force were ripping the world apart. The two stood back to back, their eyes trying to pierce the darkness.

"Silent wall!" Hotaru cried out, her voice thin against the vast wind that suddenly bowled them over. Ryo watched as she held the glaive out, blocking a large beam of energy. He gritted his teeth, shifting his stance.

"That's the same power that flying guy from the festival had," he growled. Hotaru panted as the last of the attack licked at her barrier.

"Whatever it is," she said quietly, trying to regain her breath, "it's strong. I hope you're as good as Makoto-san says."

"You don't remember the flower shop?" Ryo said, but her answer was cut short when a woman with green hair sauntered into view. She held up a hand, regarding them for a moment with a haughty look. "Who are you?"

The woman smiled. A ball of energy gathered in her hand, swirling ominously. Ryo locked the hilts of his katana together, not wanting to give her the moment to attack.

"Sou en za!"

The white blaze of fire burned right through her. It continued its barrage down the street, lighting up the world so suddenly that Hotaru had to shield her eyes. She squinted as his attack eventually burned down into flickers; the woman was still alive. She was gasping for breath, but she was well enough to leap out of a second wave of Ryo's surekill.

The woman flipped open a fan, waving it in retaliation. Multiple beams of energy flew out, striking at Ryo's feet. So this was what caused the ground to shatter earlier. Hotaru watched as Ryo disconnected his two blades and changed his grip in each hand; he launched forward, attacking the woman relentlessly. With her fan, she parried every blow.

This was going nowhere. Hotaru sucked in a deep breath. She should transform, she thought as she crept closer to the fighting pair. She should transform and let a big blast of Death Reborn Revolution save the day. But transforming meant—meant facing the nightmares she had tried to keep stifled.

Hotaru shoved those thoughts away. Ryo was pushed back by the green-haired woman; Hotaru darted in, under his arm, and struck forward with her glaive. It pierced the green-haired woman in the stomach. Hotaru then sliced through the green-haired woman's side, ignoring the blood that spilled onto the ground.

The green-haired woman fell forward before she crumbled into dust. Another wind picked up, brushing her ashes into the air. Hotaru lowered her arm, the glaive disappearing. "Are you okay?"

When Ryo didn't answer, she turned to find him staring up at the sky. His hands were tightly clenched around his katana.

"Ryo?"

Ryo shook his head, looking at her. He had just been thinking—how was it that a girl could so ruthlessly dispose of the enemy when he himself was still hesitant? Just because they looked human didn't mean they were. But still... The look in Hotaru's eyes didn't suit her. It was more than old, he realized. It was tired. "I'm fine. Are you?"

"Mm."

After a moment, the two quietly continued on their journey. Hotaru still had on that weary smile when Ryo delivered her safe to the Kai'ou household. Michiru demanded that he come in for tea while Haruka stared at the state of Hotaru's rumpled clothes.

"Sanada, the hell did you do to my daughter?"

"We were attacked," Hotaru said briskly, slipping off her shoes. "Another member of the Black Moon clan."

"How do you know?" Michiru asked, her eyes narrowing. Her hands lingered by Ryo's elbow, guiding him into the living room. Hotaru sat down next to him.

"She had the symbol on her forehead. Green hair, attacked with a fan. That's all I know."

"I'll run this by Setsuna," Haruka said. As she made her way out of the room, she paused. "Oi, Sanada. Thanks."

"Ah?" Ryo blinked at her sudden words. He was trying to get accustomed to Hotaru's stern voice.

"For taking care of my daughter."

Michiru noticed that for some reason, Ryo looked smug as Hotaru started pouting. "Did I perhaps miss something?"

"Nothing at all," Hotaru grumbled, crossing her arms. Ryo laughed, nudging her.

"I told you."

"Whatever."

Michiru opened her mouth. Closed it. Then she turned around and wordlessly went to make tea.

x

There were several reasons as to why Setsuna chose to live in the heart of the city. Although peaceful, the Kai'ou mansion was on the outskirts of town. She didn't mind it at first, but when her commutes to Keiou University became more frequent, she found the distance troublesome. The mansion was also far too large for her; even with three other people, Setsuna found herself feeling that there was too much space.

There was also the slight feeling she had that she was intruding on Haruka and Michiru. Sure, they had all agreed that they would raise Hotaru together (they had even gotten those promise rings, at one point). But time went on, lives changed, and Michiru was having a baby. She was their sister, they had protested, the baby's new aunt. Heck, if she wanted, she could be even a third mother again.

But it wasn't the same. That baby would be born of their love, not hers, and she didn't want to intrude. Hotaru understood in that way that one wouldn't expect her to understand. She didn't say anything about it, but the look in her eyes meant enough to Setsuna.

It really wasn't any different, anyway, living by herself. She had been stationed once at the Time Gates, after all. Loneliness was something she was accustomed to.

Setsuna sighed, rearranging the flowers on her coffee table. Beside her, resting against the back of the couch, was her garnet rod. It gleamed uselessly in the night, dormant. She felt it calling to her, however, begging for her to give into temptation and use it.

But Setsuna knew better. What was the point of going to the future? She had already been there, knew what was going to happen. It didn't do to dwell in events that had not yet happened. And even if there had been something she had missed, she couldn't tell anyone—especially not the other Senshi. It was not her place to tell. She was a guardian, not a prophet. She had sworn to protect the secrecy of time, no matter what occurred.

Still—Setsuna cast her gaze down to her hands, which rested on her knees. There was another reason why she had left the Kai'ou mansion—one that she couldn't bear to confess. She had already wrapped it around her mind, sunk her teeth in it, mulled it over until she accepted it. But to let Haruka and Michiru and Hotaru know—Setsuna knew better than to break hearts.

Her phone beeped and lit up. She glanced at it, seeing it was a text from Shin. A short apology for clueing in Makoto and Rei about what was going on.

_Don't worry_, Setsuna responded. Although she didn't outwardly smile, she felt warm. Despite what her sister Senshi thought, there was nothing romantic between her and Shin. Once realizing that Shin was going to school in the same area that Setsuna lived, his brother-in-law and her good friend Ryuusuke had asked her to look after him. "He's a good kid, but he needs to think more about himself," Ryuusuke had said. "I know I'm practically asking you to babysit, but I think you'd get along."

Shin, of course, didn't know that. He had attributed their meeting to coincidence; Ryuusuke had double-booked lunch with the both of them. Eventually the luncheons became routine, until Ryuusuke made excuses every time to cancel on them. Neither was bothered, because Ryuusuke was right—the two of them got along exceptionally well.

Setsuna sometimes wished that she never knew that he and his friends had been the ones to save the Youjakai. She had felt the second Arago had taken over, and she had no way to leave the Time Gates back then. All she could do was watch as poison seeped through her land, taking over and manifesting in Arago's hands. And the fact that five teenage boys had been the ones to save the Youjakai...

She had tried to convince herself that was the reason why she had befriended Shin—that she was repaying her debt. She knew, deep down, though, that it was because she was tired of being alone.

Setsuna sighed, leaning back in her seat. Her eyes closed briefly. She was tired of being alone, and yet here she was, ostracizing herself. She knew she was being difficult, stubborn even, more than anyone thought. Her phone lit up again, this time for a call. Haruka.

"Yes?"

Setsuna listened as Haruka rattled on about another enemy, some lady with green hair and the upside moon on her forehead. "So have you got any idea?"

"Esmeraude," Setsuna said, nodding her head. It came as a surprise, but not a shock. So their enemy was moving quicker. "Hotaru took care of it?"

"She didn't transform." Haruka paused only a beat before she started speaking again. Setsuna had to concentrate; Haruka always spoke quickly on the phone, as if she were rushed. "I'm worried about her. She keeps saying she doesn't want to transform because she wants to test her strength, but this was a real battle. She could have been killed."

"You think something is wrong."

"Of course I do." Haruka sighed, frustrated. "It's like the older she gets, the more she keeps from us."

"She's a growing girl."

"We're all growing girls, Setsuna. I just think—she's hiding something, you know?"

"Mm." Setsuna had gotten the feeling as well. She had an idea that it was maybe the same thing she herself was hiding... "You want me to talk to her?"

"Maybe," Haruka paused again. "Hey, you're coming over this weekend, right?"

"Of course."

"Not like we miss you," Haruka hurriedly said. Setsuna chuckled, hearing the denial in her voice.

"Of course you don't."

"Really, Setsuna. If something's up, let me or Michiru know. We can help."

"Of course," Setsuna said for the third time. As they exchanged goodbyes, she wondered how much longer she could hide from them. It was ironic, she thought as she stood up and stretched. She had criticized Haruka for believing unwaveringly in their code, their mission—but here Setsuna was, doing the exact same thing.

Still, it was nice to hear her voice. Setsuna's fingers clasped over the cool metal of her garnet rod. Warmth filled her before the rod disappeared. In the silence that lingered, the night felt bleak again.

Setsuna wondered how much longer she would be able to hear all of their voices.

* * *

**an **holy moley this chapter was SO everywhere and nowhere and i am sorry for it being ten pages of nothing happening (hence the rather long wait compared to updates from before), but it had to happen eventually. i understand you might be confused now haha, my apologies.

ugh anyway next chapter should less vague garble and more va-va-voom and fun. thank you, as always, for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

**eight**

"I now call this meeting to a start," Usagi declared importantly, despite the fact that Rei and Minako were too busy squabbling to pay attention to her. Makoto was rearranging the plates of food for the fifth time while Ami uncharacteristically stared outside the window. "Hey, hey, I'm talking!"

"Ugh, no one cares," Chibiusa said as she stretched her arms above her head. Her fist knocked into Michiru's knee. "Oops, sorry Michiru-san—"

"No problem," Michiru said from her spot on the couch. She shrugged away Haruka's eighth attempt to put an arm around her. Haruka sulked.

"Shut up, Chibiusa," Usagi growled, snatching a pastry off of one of Makoto's plates. Makoto swiftly replaced it with another pastry from a different tray. "Come on, guys, focus!"

"Wow," Haruka grinned. "Our Usagi, telling everyone to focus?"

"Haruka-san!" Usagi started to whine, only to be quelled by a comforting hand on the top of her head.

"I was just kidding, kitten—"

"What a flirt," Hotaru said dryly, rolling her eyes. Setsuna, sitting beside her with a cup of tea in her hands, nodded sagely.

"Oh my god, my family is against me," Haruka grumbled, crossing her arms and sitting back in her seat. Mamoru, who was looking at his empty wallet, nodded slowly.

"Tell me about it," he mumbled to himself, wondering how breakfast with his future wife and child could have cost him so much.

"Okay, seriously guys," Usagi said, her mouth full of pastry, "I have some important things to talk about."

"That's a first," Minako quipped, finger in the air. Usagi threw her a dirty look. "Pardon me, please continue."

"I _shall_," Usagi simpered. "Anyway, so we have on our agenda today—"

"We have an agenda?" Makoto asked, looking up from her arrangement. She raised her eyebrows at Mamoru, who shrugged cluelessly.

"Yes, I drafted it up myself—Rei-chan!"

Rei took the sheet of paper Usagi grasped in her hands. She held it up between her thumb and forefinger. "Wow, this actually has words on it."

"No _way_," Minako gasped, snatching the paper before Usagi could get it back. "No rabbit doodles?"

Usagi sat down, grabbing two more pastries. "I give up," she said, biting into both pastries at the same time. "Someone else continue the meeting, please."

In lieu of her agenda, she was thoroughly ignored. Chibiusa took pity on her and stood up, easily grabbing the agenda, which had been passed onto Haruka. "Listen up! In today's meeting we'll be talking about Hotaru-chan fighting Esmeraude, Minako being rude as usual, Mako and Rei's discoveries and our division as guardian and outer system Senshi."

"What? What division—"

"Hotaru-chan first," Chibiusa said, shushing Haruka with a glare. Haruka, obviously miffed, pouted as Hotaru stood up.

"Ryo was walking me home when Esmeraude attacked us. We killed her. She turned into dust."

Everyone stared at her quite short explanation. Chibiusa had a sudden gleam in her eye.

"Is that all, Hotaru-chan?"

Hotaru sat back down, unaware that everyone wanted more details. "Yes."

"O_kay_," Chibiusa said suspiciously, winking at her best friend. Hotaru didn't understand. "Well then! I guess we can move on. Minako."

"I would like to object," Minako said, holding her right hand in the air, the other sitting primly atop her lap. "I am not at all rude."

"Minako, I'm sure if I hadn't been there with you, you would have tried to take all those boys out yourself," Makoto said.

"And I'm sure she doesn't mean on a date," Usagi added, nodding her head. Minako scowled, jabbing her fist at Usagi's side, all propriety lost.

"What, are you guys ganging up on me now?"

"We're just trying to understand," Usagi said, wriggling away from her. "And for your information, that _hurts_—"

Minako sniffed. "Well, if you _must_ understand, then know that I met with them—"

"We've met with them too," Rei interrupted, giving Minako a pointed look. "They were very polite."

"What? No way, they were _so_ rude, they accused us of being MIA or something—"

"Well," Makoto said with a sigh, "we kind of were."

"You really can't believe that, Mako-chan. We were _saving the world_—"

"So were they," Makoto argued back listlessly. Minako's lips tightened.

"We don't have any proof—"

Usagi lifted her hand up, trying to distill the tension. "C—can we go back to the agenda?"

"I'm afraid your last three objectives combine into one," Setsuna spoke up. Her voice overpowered Minako's sullen expression. She set her teacup down. "Minako, I'm sure you would like to explain your position, but I must first address Makoto and Rei. You have met with Mouri, no?"

Makoto and Rei nodded. "They told us—"

"That we know more than we let on, yes?" Setsuna sighed, looking weary. "That is true, we do."

"But," Usagi asked, still giving Minako a cautious glance, "why? I thought we could all count on each other..."

"We can," Haruka said hurriedly. "You _know_ we can, kitten. It's just—"

She broke off, looking almost troubled. Setsuna picked up her teacup, closing her eyes. "I suppose the four of us have always been rather socially inept."

Minako's mouth dropped as Usagi swung her head from side to side nervously. Sure, all the guardian Senshi had thought that, but no one ever really _addressed_ it to them. "Not at all, Setsuna-san, you four—you guys all know you're welcome, you're a part of our family—"

"We know that," Michiru interrupted gently, looking amused. "We just have a different way of handling things."

"Not your code again," Minako groaned. Even Rei looked bothered.

"Not our code," Haruka quipped, her lips quirked up wryly. "We just want to protect you guys, that's all."

"Haruka-san, we don't need protecting," Makoto pointed out, eyebrows raised. "Unless you forgot, we're kind of, you know, Senshi as well."

"Of course," Michiru explained, her voice still soft. "That's not it at all, Makoto. We also have a... connection to this situation."

"Excuse me?" Rei said, sitting up straight. She had always admired Michiru, that was obvious to anyone who paid any kind of attention to their dynamic—but at the moment, Rei felt a flash of annoyance towards the older girl. "If you really want to protect us, you could start with telling the truth."

"Of course," Michiru repeated. She set her hands in her lap, glancing off to the side. Usagi squinted, wondering if she was hallucinating the rose petals the vaguely imprinted the air. "Setsuna, you don't mind if I—?"

"Not at all, go ahead."

Michiru looked momentarily over at Ami, who was still staring out the window. Funny how none of the others noticed her lack of attention. She turned her gaze back to the rest of guardian Senshi. "Five years ago, you all traveled to Point D to fight against Metallia. And while it seemed only a day, in truth—I'm sure some of you have already suspected this, with the help of some Mau citizens—" Here she looked pointedly at Artemis, who seemed pleased with the recognition, "—in actuality, it was weeks. Despite the taboo, Setsuna interfered and slowed time for you at Point D, while she guided the rest of the world to move more quickly."

This seemed to finally catch Ami's attention. She was leaning forward now, her eyes glittering with interest. "Is that within your power to do, Setsuna-san?"

"Not technically," Setsuna said, her smile slightly—only slightly—mischievous. "My powers as Sailor Pluto were not designed as such. However, spending eternities at the Time Gates gave me a bit of free time to experiment with loop holes."

"Rule-breaker," Minako hissed behind a hand to Chibiusa, whose mouth was open at the thought of Pluto being a secret troublemaker.

"What was the point of that?" Rei asked, bringing the attention back to the story. "For us to exist slower, for the world to move faster."

"There is a realm," Haruka spoke up. "The underworld. Hades' realm. The Youjakai. Governed by the kingdom of Pluto, initially, but after the fall of the Silver Millenium it was left to fend for its own. Somewhere along the line, a man named Arago was able to take control of the Youjakai. He morphed it into his own creation, corrupting it from the very core. He had his sights on conquering the human world—our world—but he was craftier than he let on. He knew about the guardian Senshi and the moon princess, and he knew that you five—six, sorry Mamoru—would be a threat to him, seeing as how you were slowly destroying the Dark Kingdom."

"So he waited until we were led to Point D before attacking Shinjuku," Ami concluded. Her face was troubled. "If that were the case, shouldn't you have sped up time for us and slowed it for the rest of the world? We would have been back in time to defend against his attack."

"That would theoretically have been correct." Michiru smiled, finding Ami's grasp of the situation refreshing. Minako and Usagi were both nodding, but their eyes were glazed over. Makoto seemed to be understanding, but the way she picked at the pastry in her hand said otherwise. Rei, of course, was absorbing everything—perhaps not as well as Ami, but Michiru had the sneaking suspicion that the priestess had been having dreams that clued her in to the situation.

"Theoretically?" Minako stuck her finger in the hole of a donut, swirling the donut around her plate.

"We all died at Point D," Ami said. "Our bodies after being reborn would have been too weak. You saw this. Am I correct?"

"Partly," Setsuna confirmed. "I also saw five young boys, each gifted with armor and an inner strength, that perhaps were meant to battle Arago in your place."

"The Boys from the Roof," Makoto concluded. "They saved the Youjakai while we were gone."

"Correct. They are not our enemies."

"So," Minako said slowly, taking a bite of her donut. She chewed, watching the older Senshi thoughtfully. "Why couldn't you just tell us they weren't dangerous?"

Michiru easily saw the hurt in Minako's eyes, despite the fact that she tried to hide it. It was difficult, she thought, being able to read the younger girls so easily. But maybe that was a good thing—they weren't bitter soldiers, like herself, Haruka, Setsuna, and even Hotaru. "We were trying to protect you."

"Wouldn't telling the truth from the beginning avoid any unnecessary confrontation?" Rei asked, eyebrow primly raised.

"We were under the impression that perhaps if you did not trust them, you would not involve yourselves so deeply in the situation," Michiru confessed, looking apologetic.

"That doesn't make any sense," Mamoru said politely.

"Socially inept," Hotaru supplied helpfully. The guardian Senshi cringed.

"Anyway, please forgive us." Haruka bowed her head, her gaze on the carpet. "We're constantly keeping secrets from you, even though we've learned that's not how we should treat you. It's a part our code."

"I hate that code," Usagi said softly, her bottom lip jutted out. "It's stupid."

"Usagi," Rei hissed, nudging her. "Don't be rude—"

It was Michiru who started laughing first, her hand over her mouth. Setsuna was barely fighting off a smile, which she tried to hide behind her teacup. Haruka shook her head, eyes wide. "Kitten, don't you think that's a little—harsh?"

Usagi sat straight up on her knees, her arms on her hips. "No, and I decide that from here on out, a new code will be in order. And that one says you guys won't pull this kind of stuff anymore."

"Ugh, Usagi, you're a little embarrassing," Chibiusa grumbled, slapping her forehead. Michiru continued laughing, finding herself unable to speak. It was Setsuna who smiled and nodded.

"I agree. New code in place."

"Good," Usagi huffed. "Anyway, next objective. Minako, you will go to the Boys from the Roof and apologize to them."

"What, no _way_," Minako protested, chucking her donut at Usagi's face. Usagi, somehow (though really, no one should have been _that _surprised), caught the donut between her teeth.

"Yes way!" Usagi cried out, chomping on the donut.

"Ugh, fine," Minako groaned, leaning back on her hands. "I really don't like the idea of it, though."

"Minako, we're not normal girls," Rei said bluntly, catching the look Makoto gave her (the look was clearly saying, only you can snap Minako out of this funk, Rei!). "We never were and never will be."

"I know," Minako said lightly, though the look in her eyes spoke more than that.

"You should probably also consider that _they_ are not normal boys. They never were, and they never will be."

Minako was silent. Everyone was silent. There had always been that large elephant in the room that was never really addressed—the fact that as much as Usagi wanted them to pursue their own lives, they really couldn't. They could go off and be superstars, world-class chefs, renowned geniuses and gifted women, but in the end they would come back. The guardian Senshi had come to an understanding right after they defeated Nehelenia that they would always be there for Usagi, even if she protested. It was their birthright, but more than that—it was their devotion to her, to the world, to themselves and their mother planets that kept them.

"I'll go with you to apologize," Rei finally offered, before Usagi could do something stupid like start crying as apologizing, even if none of them at all blamed her. The corner of Minako's lip lifted slightly.

"Don't tell me you've got your eye on one of them," she teased half-heartedly. Rei rolled her eyes nonetheless, waving the question away.

"I just don't trust you. The second you tell them you're sorry and they forgive you, you're going to jump on one of them, I know it."

"You know me well!" Minako winked. Makoto shook her head, wondering how Minako was able to quickly just shift through her moods. "Shall we go now?"

"How do you know where to find them?" Chibiusa asked curiously.

"_I_ don't know," Minako said, throwing an arm around Chibiusa's shoulders and pulling her close. "_You_, however, are dating their little brother figure, correcto?"

Usagi spit her donut all over Makoto's face. Mamoru's eyebrow twitched. "ExCUSE ME?!" she shrieked, launching herself at Chibiusa. "You want to explain?!"

"Oh my god get off me!" Chibiusa wailed, kicking Usagi and scrambling for an escape. Usagi swung forward, snatching Chibiusa's leg and pulling her back.

"You have some explaining to do, brat!"

"Whose business is it if I'm dating someone?!"

"Uh, hel_lo_," Usagi said. "You're supposed to be dating Helios!"

"Helios?" Haruka furrowed her brow. "The horse boy? What happened to Peruru?"

Chibiusa paled. Minako almost had stars in her eyes.

"I've taught her well," she gushed to Makoto, who sorely picked up a pastry and wondered how a fifteen year old had more luck with guys than she did.

x

Touma closed his notebook, tucking it away in his book bag. He glanced down the lecture hall, though he wasn't surprised when he didn't see the short crop of blue hair. So Mizuno hadn't been in class today. That was understandable; they had stayed up late the night before, running over possible theories on why they had never met as well as the purpose of their enemy.

Their enemy. He smiled wryly at the memory. Ami had, at first, been very reluctant to divulge any information to him. It had taken a bit of persuasion on his part (he himself was also unwilling to reveal everything to her), but she finally decided to spill everything when he mentioned Mukala.

"Three years ago?" Ami's eyes widened, her hands clutching the folds of her skirt. "This was the unbearably hot summer, am I correct?"

Touma nodded, eyeing her with scrutiny. She looked tense, excited—on the verge of an epiphany. He recognized the look all too well.

"It could be a coincidence," Ami said, almost breathless. "But that was around the time the Dead Moon circus set their sights on Tokyo. The weather was stifling hot, humid, due to the sheer presence of their evil power. But you said this—Mukala was what caused the heat in Shinjuku?"

"I haven't heard of a Dead Moon circus," Touma mumbled, more to himself. He leaned back on his arms, watching as Ami put a finger to her lip.

"No, you wouldn't have—especially not if you were busy with your own opponent. I'm starting to wonder now—"

"Maybe our teams were purposely being pushed apart," Touma finished for her. He caught the surprise in her eyes that he could follow her train of thought so easily. And then she smiled pleasantly, nodding. She didn't have to tell him that she was thankful for someone else who could grasp at clues and fill in the blanks—he himself was grateful for her unexpectedly sharp mind.

"Hashiba!"

Touma was jumbled from his thoughts, seeing Ami, in real life, jogging towards him. Her face was flushed, as if she had been rushing to find him. "Mizuno, hey—"

"Thank goodness I found you," she breathed, her face blooming into happiness. He stared, unsure of how to respond. "I've just had a meeting with the others, but I didn't have a chance to let them know about what we talked about before we had to break up. I was actually preoccupied the whole meeting, I just couldn't stop thinking of our conversations. I wanted to find you, though. Do you have time now?"

She was speaking unnaturally fast. Touma blinked, glancing around. Seiji was supposed to meet up with him, like he always did after their morning class. "Yeah, we could sit at that bench if you don't mind."

"Of course," Ami said, fumbling with her messenger bag as he led the way. She slung the strap over her shoulder as she sat down. She didn't hesitate to start. "Setsuna told us everything she's told you guys, maybe more. I can perhaps fill in the blanks later, but a sudden thought occurred to me."

"Go on," Touma said politely, keeping his eyes out for Seiji. His mind, however, was entirely focused on her.

"You remember that I had theorized that this enemy was targeting my princess?" At Touma's nod, Ami turned fully to him. "I'm starting to doubt that. It just doesn't make sense to me. Why would they go after each of us Senshi if they could just take her instead?"

"You protect her, don't you?" Touma, for once, couldn't understand where she was heading. Ami bit her lip.

"We're not as strong as we used to be. Peace, I think, had put our powers into a bit of a hibernation. It would be easier than they think, and after that attack from Rubeus—the man from the festival—I'm sure the enemy would realized the state of Venus and Jupiter's powers and change their tactic accordingly."

"You might be giving them too much credit," Touma joked. In the back of his mind, however, he remembered what Ryo had told them early that morning. That Hotaru had told him the guardian Senshi were weak, that Uranus's strength was immensely greater than theirs.

"Perhaps," Ami said. "That's beside the point. There's one thing in common that the attacks all had. One thing we're overlooking."

Touma looked at her, trying to read the information from her eyes. Instead, all he saw was an unguarded pool of excitement, anticipation—and trust. It almost overwhelmed him and he looked away. All of the previous attacks... He looked at her again, eyes narrowed. "Ryo?"

"Precisely." Ami sighed, glancing down at her lap, playing with the edge of her short skirt. "I'm still unsure of why dead enemies are showing up, but I think their main focus is to take on Sanada."

"But that time on the roof? They asked for Kino Makoto."

"That puzzles me as well," Ami said, shaking her head. "Makoto is the strongest of the guardian Senshi. They might mistake her for leader..."

Her voice trailed off. A dumbstruck look appeared on her face. Touma blinked again. "Mizuno?"

"They think she's leader," Ami said, almost laughing. "She guards over Jupiter—of course, the god of all gods. They probably think she's the leader, much like Sanada."

"That might be stretching it a bit," Touma pointed out, smirking. Ami's shoulders quivered with giggles. "I'll make a bet on it, if you want."

"A bet?"

"Of course. If you're right, and this enemy is as stupid as you say it is, then I'll build you a robot."

Ami's eyebrow quirked up. "A robot," she repeated, skeptical.

"Or a really good coffee maker," Touma added. "Self-brewing. Solar powered."

"And if _you're_ right?" Ami pressed, curious.

"What do you have to offer?"

"I have some good study guides."

Touma gave her a flat look. Ami laughed, playing with the strap of her bag.

"Fine, I'll let you borrow the super computer."

The two shook hands. If anyone else had been around, they would have been astounded that Mizuno Ami was not blushing, or itchy, or shaking or overcome with nerves. It would have been the oddest (and most exciting) thing for her fellow Senshi to see her conversing with a boy so naturally. Of course, Ami didn't even realize the implications of her late visit at Touma's apartment the night before. She was only concerned with the beauty of sharing knowledge, of theorizing all night long, of talking about physics and the world and everything in between.

It wasn't until later that afternoon, when she was sitting in a booth at Crown Fruit Parlor, pouring over her class notes, did she realize—she had been over at Hashiba Touma's apartment until two in the morning, sitting in his room—alone—with a boy—in his apartment—his _room_—alone—

"Another tea, Ami?"

Ami looked up at Unazuki. "N—n—n—"

"Ami?" Unazuki set down her tray on the table, leaning forward. "You're all red, are you feeling okay?"

Her phone lit up. It was a text from Touma, thanking her for the information earlier. Ami suddenly felt her arms itching.

"Do you need some medicine? I'll run to the back—"

"I—I—I'm," Ami continued to stutter, rubbing her arms furiously. The text was _not_ a love letter, she was trying to convince herself. Of course it wasn't, that was stupid to even think of in the first place. Not a love letter, she repeated, and not an allergic reaction.

"Ami?" That was Motoki. He leaned over the booth, reaching out to feel her forehead. That did it. Ami flailed her arms, knocked her lukewarm tea all over the notes, stood up and collapsed right as she got on her feet. Motoki gaped, catching her. She shoved him away, scrambling backwards into the booth.

"I'm so sorry," Ami said, breathing heavily, scratching at her itching face. "I'm so—I'm—"

"Do you want me to call someone?" Motoki offered hesitantly, his arms still out in case she fell again.

"No," Ami said automatically. "I just—I need—"

She had been alone in Hashiba Touma's room until two in the morning. Motoki watched as she stood stark still, her face paling, before she suddenly fainted.

"C—call Mamoru!" he sputtered out to Unazuki, who had returned with a bottle of medicine.

x

Yamano Jun was the first of his friends to spot the blonde girl standing at the gates. It was late, past school hours, but he had stayed behind to clean up the practice room. He swung his duffle bag over his shoulder, giving the girl a glance over. She had her hands on her hips as she puffed her cheeks out.

Jun tried to sneak by. She turned her glare from the school's sign onto him. "Hey, kid!"

Jun pointed to himself. "Me?"

"Yeah, hey," she said, trying to draw herself up taller as she crossed her arms. Too bad he towered over her tiny little figure. "You go here?"

"Yes," Jun said plainly. Oddly enough, she reminded him of someone... He just couldn't out a finger on who.

"Do you like it?"

"Er, yeah," Jun said, wondering what the hell this strange girl was getting at. "Do you need any help, ma'am? I really have to go—"

"I'm looking for a brat," the girl said, waving her hand. "He's probably in a gang or something, and really ugly, with dyed hair. You know anybody like that?"

Jun had a handful of guys he could think of. He, however, did not understand why a girl like her would be caught up with a bunch of thugs. "What do you need with them?" he asked cautiously.

"He's dating my sister," the girl said. "I need to give him a piece of my mind, you know, let him know that Tsukino girls aren't to be messed with."

Jun opened his mouth to quickly explain that he really couldn't help her when he realized what she had just said. "T—tsukino?"

The girl's face immediately brightened up. "Yeah, you know her? She's a punk, but she's sweet—don't tell her I said that, though. Any idea who she's dating?"

Jun took a good moment to survey the girl in front of him. He must have been dumb, he realized, to not figure out the connection. Different hair and eye color, but they shared the same sweet face. Oh god, he thought. This was _not_ how he wanted to meet the family. Did that weird Chiba guy tip her off? Was that it?

"Yoo-hoo, kid? Hey, kid?"

Jun blinked at the hand waving in front of his face. He plastered on a silly grin. "You know, Tsukino-san, I don't think I know him all that well. I heard he's a great guy, though, really nice to his classmates, star of the Kendo team."

"Call me Usagi," she said, staring at the nametag on the bag. Her eyebrows were scrunched up. "Ah, sorry, I can't really read your name that well..."

She was unflinchingly honest. Jun's smile wavered. "It's—my name, that's—"

"Oi, Yamano! You forgot something in the locker room!"

Jun squeezed his eyes shut. He opened them to see Usagi staring at him with a flabbergasted expression as his teammate shoved something under his face. "Here, you wouldn't want to leave your lucky charm behind, eh lover boy?"

It was a photograph. Of Chibiusa and him, cheek to cheek, with his arm around her. Both of them were grinning at the camera, with Chibiusa flashing a peace sign. Before Jun could grab it and hide it, Usagi took the photograph, her mouth flapping open. "You little _brat_!" she squealed, not taking her eyes off the picture. "You lied to me, right to my face!"

"I didn't try to! You're the one who was making me out to be some kind of thug!"

"You _are_ a thug!" Usagi cried out childishly, pointing her finger right under his nose. Jun's teammate stared.

"Yamano, you know this crazy girl?"

"Crazy?" Usagi rounded on the other boy. "Scram!"

Jun's teammate's eyes widened as he reluctantly took a step back. Jun gave him a pitiful glance and he turned around, shrugging. "See you tomorrow, Yamano."

"Yeah, bye."

"So, Jun," Usagi said, taking him suddenly around the shoulders. That itself was a feat; she had to almost jump before he took pity on her and crouched down. "How about you treat Usa-neechan to a milkshake?"

"I—I really have to get home," Jun stumbled as Usagi somehow managed to drag him down the sidewalk.

"Nonsense! Kids should be visiting the arcade center, not study all day! I'll even let you pay for a round of Sailor V, how about that?"

No wonder Chibiusa always avoided talking about her sister. Jun found himself somehow putting in a few coins into the Sailor V game. He almost numbly watched as Usagi expertly beat her way through the levels. Soon, his nerves had faded away in lieu of his amazement at Usagi's expert Sailor V skills. "How'd you do that?"

"Do what?" Usagi asked, her tongue sticking out as she squinted at the screen.

"Usually you have to fight the boss head on, but you managed to sneak around it."

"Easy, use your climbing skills to scale the wall and get over him," Usagi said. She groaned as Sailor V suddenly fell into a hole. "Man, I always forget that's there!"

"You're—really good," Jun said dumbly. Usagi looked smug.

"Of course I am. See the second place score?"

"That must mean you've spent way too much time here," Motoki said as he appeared, leaning against the game machine. He rapped his knuckles against the machine fondly. "Still haven't beat Ami's score though."

"Ugh, don't remind me." Usagi stepped back from the game, grinning at him.

"Have you heard from Ami? I'm a bit worried—"

Motoki blinked as Usagi started laughing. She slapped the game machine for good emphasis. "Ami's fine! She's absolutely okay! Did you know that she's allergic to love letters?"

"Love letters?" Motoki was dumbfounded. "Are you sure that's what it was?"

"Yeah, Mamo-chan told me all about it. His doctor buddy said it was an allergic reaction, and she's only got one thing she's allergic to." Usagi paused. "I might have to hunt her down and figure out who this guy is though."

Motoki sighed, shaking his head. "You girls are going to be the death of me. I honestly thought she was having an episode or something."

Usagi glanced at Motoki, her eyes softening. She really wondered, sometimes, why he put up with them. They were all meddlesome, and she knew that he knew that they all had a crush on him at one point in their lives. "Ah, Motoki-niichan, you're too nice."

Motoki shrugged, grinning. He glanced at Jun. "Oh, hey, your friends were just here."

"My friends?"

"Shuu and Ryo? Somewhere around here, maybe at the parlor now."

"Shuu's here?" Usagi's face lit up.

"You know Shuu?" Jun asked, blinking at her. Usagi almost started cackling.

"I know everything about you, little boy, there's nothing you can hide from Usa-neechan!"

Motoki shook his head again, motioning over to the parlor. "Go and help yourself, Usagi."

"Thanks, Motoki!"

Usagi grabbed Jun's arm, forcibly dragging him. They went through the door connecting the arcade and the parlor. Unazuki immediately looked up, greeting Usagi. "Your usual?" she asked. Usagi nodded eagerly, thanking her. She scanned the parlor for a few familiar faces before her eyes landed on Shuu. He was sitting in a booth with two other people, whose backs were facing her.

"Shuu-niichan," Jun called out weakly. Shuu immediately spotted them, waving them over. His eyes seemed to light up as Usagi saluted him.

"Long time no see, pretty girl."

"We just ran into each other the other day," Usagi countered. She squeezed into the booth, jabbing her thumb at the still-standing Jun. "You never told me you knew the kid dating my sister, though!"

"Chibiusa's your sister?" Shuu feigned a look of surprise. "I never knew!"

Usagi stuck her tongue out at him. Across from her, Ryo stifled a laugh. "How are you doing? We haven't met since the recital."

"Ah, that's right! You're the tiger boy, of course! How are you?" The blonde paused before she realized who was sitting next to Ryo. "Ah, Hotaru-chan?"

"Hi," Hotaru said plainly before turning back to her soda. Usagi blinked a few times, trying to understand. Eventually she gave up and turned to Shuu.

"You're stealing all my friends," she said. He winked at her.

"I'm just that great of a guy."

"Gross," Ryo joked. He nudged Hotaru and nodded his head at Jun. She glared at him before rolling her eyes to the standing teen.

"Yamano," she said stiffly.

"Tomoe," Jun greeted, just as coldly.

"Woah," Usagi said, watching the exchange. "This is great."

"Better than television," Shuu agreed. "Anyway, what brings you here with Jun?"

"I was going to terrorize him," Usagi huffed. "But then he paid for my Sailor V game so I figure I could be nice."

"Better than your fiancé," Ryo said, laughing. Jun colored at the memory as he finally took a seat next to Ryo. "He almost beat up Jun. It was kind of funny."

Shuu's smile was a little tight. No one except Hotaru noticed, and she figured it wasn't any of her business. "Should've done it," she instead chose to say. Jun's expression turned sour.

"What was that, Tomoe?"

Hotaru slid her eyes to her drink, shrugging one shoulder. Jun scowled, but before he could say anything, Shuu intervened. "Wow, you guys really like each other, huh?"

"As if," Jun muttered darkly. Usagi's eyes seemed to be dancing.

"Jun, you know that to really charm a girl, you have to get her best friend's approval, right?"

"I don't need approval from a spoiled girl with a princess complex," Jun grumbled.

"I wouldn't want to give my approval to a crybaby little worm, anyway," Hotaru said smoothly.

"I am _not_ a crybaby!"

Shuu and Usagi could have clutched hands and started dancing. Instead they both snorted and ducked their heads, trying to hide their laughter. Ryo sighed, caught in-between the crossfire—literally. Hotaru was on his left while Jun was sitting to his right. "Come on, you two, play nice."

Silence from the both of them. Ryo shook his head, stretching his arms and yawning. It was contagious; Shuu also started yawning. Usagi rubbed her eye. "Stop that, you guys are passing it on."

"Late night," Ryo said apologetically. "Though I'm sure you know about it?"

Usagi nodded, her gaze soft. "Yeah. I..."

She paused for a moment. All eyes were on her. Shuu sighed. "You don't have to explain, Usagi."

"No, I do. Though maybe Hotaru-chan already has?" Usagi glanced up, seeing Hotaru shake her head. Great, she thought. She wasn't the most eloquent with words. "I just think—I know we got off on the wrong foot—and I'm sorry—"

"Don't apologize," Shuu said firmly. "Really. You didn't do anything wrong."

Usagi didn't miss the implication in that. "My friends mean well," she said, meeting his eyes. "They're just trying to protect me."

"You need that much protection?" Shuu joked, trying to lighten the mood. Instead Usagi lowered her eyes, biting her lip.

"I don't think I do. I don't really know. I just—I'm sorry if we hurt any of you."

"No offense or anything," Ryo said, "but we're pretty tough guys. We can handle more than a bunch of girls being mean."

Usagi sighed. "Really, if you're mad, let me know—"

"We're not mad," Shuu reassured her. "Who can be mad at a girl like you?"

Hotaru pulled a face as Ryo grimaced. Trust Shuu to lay it on thick—and trust Usagi to not even get it. Usagi just smiled warmily. "Thank you," she said, and he returned the smile whole-heartedly.

The five of them spent the rest of the afternoon at the parlor and the arcade. Usagi had finally granted permission to Jun to leave after an hour of beating him at a racing game. They watched as he left. "He's really a good kid, you know," Shuu said eventually. Usagi started giggling.

"I know. It's just fun, you know, playing older sister. I don't get to do it much."

"No?" Shuu leaned against the whack-a-mole game that Ryo had been teaching Hotaru how to play for the past half hour.

"Nah, Chibiusa's more reliable than me. Smarter, too. Maybe even cuter." Despite her words, Usagi didn't sound upset. She was smiling, with her fingers laced behind her back. "I'm glad she's found someone like him. He's a pretty average guy."

"Average," Shuu repeated. "Your man, is he average?"

Usagi puffed out her cheeks. "No way! Mamo-chan is above average! He's too sexy and suave to be average!"

"I'm telling him you said that," Motoki said as he passed by, patting Usagi's head fondly. She groaned.

"Come on, Motoki, don't give him any leverage!"

Motoki winked, returning to the counter. Usagi turned back to Shuu, rolling her eyes. Shuu just humored her, laughing, even if his heart didn't really mean it. He knew what he had been getting into, anyway. He would have been dumb not to notice the ring on her finger. And after meeting Chiba, he understood—someone silly and cute like Usagi needed someone smart and cool like Chiba.

"Should we head out?" Shuu asked, noticing the sun was starting to set. Usagi yawned loudly.

"This reminds me of high school. I used to spend _all_ my days here, without a care in the world."

"You still don't?" Shuu teased. She swatted him on the shoulder.

"Of course I don't! I have enough money now to buy my own games."

The two of them waited outside for Ryo and Hotaru. Shuu felt a lump in his throat as he watched Usagi play with her phone. Get over it, Shuu, he thought to himself—and of course that made his throat even drier. It sucked, he thought. It absolutely sucked to like a girl who was already taken.

But of course he wasn't going to pity himself.

Shuu sighed as Ryo and Hotaru finally came out of the arcade. He made a face as Ryo dangled a plush keychain in front of Hotaru's face.

"I don't want it," Hotaru said, exasperated.

"Just put it on your bag," Ryo was saying, even trying to grab a hold of her bag. She quickly maneuvered out of his way.

"It's the ugliest thing I've ever seen," Hotaru pouted. Ryo rolled his eyes, finally grabbing onto the strap of her bag. He swiftly clipped the keychain on, grabbing Hotaru's hand away as she tried to take it off. "Ryo—"

"Friends are great, right?" Ryo grinned at her mischievously, his blue eyes twinkling as he walked backwards in front of her. "You said it yourself, you're glad I'm your friend."

"I'm starting to regret ever saving your life," Hotaru said, shoving his shoulder. She ignored Ryo's feigned shock as she made her way to Shuu and Usagi.

"When did you guys get so chummy?" Usagi asked, squinting at them as if she couldn't possibly understand for the life of her. They had only met last night, right? How did they become so close so fast? Unless it was like a comrade kind of thing, that she understood. She and Ami were inseparable the day after Sailor Mercury awoke.

"Yeah, Ryo, what happened on that walk last night?" Shuu egged on, wiggling his eyebrows. Ryo punched him on the shoulder, laughing.

"Whatever," Ryo said. "Usagi, where are you headed?"

"Mamo-chan's place isn't too far from here," Usagi said, her hands behind her back. "Hotaru-chan, you're going home?"

"To Setsuna's," Hotaru said, absently playing with her new keychain. Ryo smirked at that.

"Oh, that's the opposite way." Usagi sighed, rubbing her elbow. The 'socially inept' thing came to mind; she never really saw Hotaru and her adoptive parents outside of Senshi business. "Take care of yourself."

Before Hotaru could respond, she reacted. She leapt forward, her shoulder crashing into Usagi's stomach as she knocked the older girl down. Ryo and Shuu, who had instinctively jumped out of the way the second they saw Hotaru act, stared at the crater where they all once stood.

"What the hell," Shuu breathed as he rushed over to Usagi. "Are you okay?"

Usagi said nothing as she grabbed onto his arm, staring up at the sky in horror. Hotaru, still on the ground, narrowed her eyes as she followed Usagi's gaze. Ryo paused, seeing the look on her face. It sent a chill down his spine, he realized, just as it had the night before.

"Usagi?"

"Demand?" Usagi whispered, and the man in the sky smiled down at her.

"Demand?" Hotaru voice was flat as she got to her feet. She yanked Usagi's attention away from him. "Another member of the Black Moon clan?"

It was all Usagi could do to nod. Her knees suddenly felt weak as she blinked, tears coming to her eyes. "And Saphir," she mumbled as another young man appeared in the sky. "But how..."

"Get her out of here," Hotaru demanded almost roughly to Shuu. Shuu lightly took Usagi's hand.

"Come on," he said. She stumbled a bit at his tug, shaking her head.

"They're not—Hotaru-chan, they're not bad," Usagi found herself saying. She wiped at her eyes with her free hand. "Please."

Hotaru said nothing. Ryo flashed her an easy-going grin. "Don't worry about it. We've got this."

Just as he spoke those words, Demand and Saphir both raised their hands. And then the sun turned black, the world felt cold, and Usagi remembered nothing else as she fainted in Shuu's arms.

* * *

**an** and another chapter done! thank you for all the reviews and for sticking with me thus far. hopefully i haven't bored you all yet. next chapter, we see... the end of the world, what?! :O

Girl-chama: thank you for your reviews! in characterizing the boys, i do take bits from their profiles and background stories, as well as how other stories characterize them. i feel like my own twist to making these characters flourish come from the little things that i like to flesh out. for example, touma, for all his cleverness, is a complete brick and has no idea what "other peoples' feelings" are lol. this i got from the kikoutei ova, where shin is all riled up and ready to bolt and touma says something like, "come on dude now isn't the time for feeling like this you're just being emotional," with the intent of being supportive but of course... it ends with him getting decked in the face hahahaha.

another example would be shuu vs ryo – they're both very impulsive (as demonstrated when they try to sneak away to attack arago when everyone's sleeping hahaha) but in different ways. out of the two, i would say shuu is the one with the wild temper, not ryo. ryo gets heated up when his friends are in danger, but otherwise i find him to switch between being chill and energetic, depending on the mood. shuu is the same way with being chill and energetic, but i feel he gets riled up much more easily – maybe not seriously, and maybe just to entertain his friends, but he would be the one to squabble over stupid things just for the hell of it.

haha i will admit though, shin is the hardest for me to write. it's so easy to just write him off as the sensitive guy, but obviously he's tougher than that. anyway i hope this helps somehow! :')


	9. Chapter 9

**nine**

Shin felt the ungodly presence of evil before he heard the screams. The beaker fell from his hands and shattered on the floor, spraying salt water over his shoes. His lab partner, an overenthusiastic young man named Umino or something, jumped.

"Mouri?"

"You didn't hear—"

Shin was cut off as the windows in the lab all shattered. He grabbed Umino by the lab coat and yanked him down, his free hand over his head. Umino's eyes had gone wide behind his oversized glasses as he landed hard on all fours. "What's going on?!"

"Stay here," Shin mumbled, getting to his feet. He and Umino had stayed after with a teaching assistant in order to finish up a project. The teaching assistant had left for a moment to grab a cup of coffee. Hopefully now she would have evacuated to safety... As he glanced out the broken window, a feeling of dread filled him.

"Mouri?"

"We need to get out of here," Shin said as another round of screams filled the hall. When Umino didn't move, he swiftly grabbed the other boy under the arm and pulled him up. "Hurry up!"

Umino stumbled after Shin's footsteps as the two evacuated the laboratory. They darted down the hall, joining the panicked crowd. Shin made sure that Umino was swallowed in the crowd before he made his own departure; he rushed into an empty classroom, transformed into his subarmor and knocked out the remains of glass in a broken window.

Before he leapt out, he squinted at the sky. There, near the center of the city, were two floating men. Dark energy was pouring out of their raised hands, covering the city in a black dome. He narrowed his eyes, spotting the large wormholes that had youja soldiers piling out. The sheer energy from them appearing had caused the windows to explode.

It was almost like Arago's invasion, all over again.

Shin took in a deep breath before he flipped out of the window. He landed deftly on his feet and took off, his gaze focused on the two men. It seemed like the youja soldiers were all clamoring to the middle of the city, right under where the two men were floating. He had no doubt that the other Troopers were already there—maybe even the Sailor Senshi.

"Shin!"

Shin threw a grim smile over his shoulder at Seiji, who easily caught up with him. "What do you think of this party?"

"Annoying," Seiji said, matching his stride with Shin's. "Who do you think those two are?"

"No clue," Shin said, pausing suddenly as he got caught sight of the scene in front of him. A mass of youja soldiers were trying to pile up on something—he couldn't make out what.

Seiji's eyes were turned up to the two floating men, who continued to supply the dark dome. "I ran into Jun. He's with Nasuti."

"Good," Shin mumbled. "Ready?"

"Ready."

"Buso Suiko!"

"Buso Kourin!"

Seiji gripped the heavy but familiar nodachi, his fingers tightening as he pulled a stance. A few of the youja soldiers had turned to them, but most were still clamoring over each other to get at whatever was in the center. A sinking feeling had filled him the second he had spotted the youja soldiers. He felt something there—a strong heat, comfortable to him, as well as a strong spirit. He had no doubt that both Ryo and Shuu were in there.

Unfamiliar to him, however, was the utter feeling of darkness. It almost overthrew Shuu and Ryo's auras. Seiji just hoped he wasn't too late. "Rai ko zan!"

Shin, following his lead almost automatically, swung out his yari. "Cho ryu ha!"

Seiji's attack seemed to amplify as it joined with Shin's waves of water. The two didn't bother waiting to watch for the after-effects; the youja soldiers fell, crumbling into black smoke as they rushed in. They were swinging their weapons, cutting through armor, trying to make it to the center. Shin hissed as a youja soldier managed to knock him back.

Seiji, however, was right at his back, piercing through the soldier's armor effortlessly. "Careful."

"Thanks."

Unbeknownst to them, Saphir turned his eyes down at the two. He glanced at Demand, who was still focused on maintaining their dark barrier. So it was up to him, then. Saphir lowered one hand, aiming at the two figures. A large black flame gathered in his fist before flying down at them.

Seiji sensed it a second too late. He whirled around, watching as the flame grew bigger with its descent; he held out his nodachi. It was impossible with the sheer size of the flame, but he could try. "Rai ko zan!" he called out again, willing all of his energy into it.

His attack was swallowed by the flame. Shit, he thought. Shin had his yari pointed at the black flame, but it was no use—

"Crescent beam!"

The two of them watched as a thin beam of light pierced the flame from the side. Useless, Seiji thought, even if he had no idea where the light came from. And then—the flame burst from the inside, and Seiji realized his sure-kill had expanded. A bright light fell over them momentarily, and he felt his strength return to him.

"That was a close one!" a jovial voice said. Shin and Seiji stared at the orange-clad Sailor Senshi. She winked at them. "Lucky this beautiful girl's here to save you!"

"Aino," Seiji said, not knowing how else to react. She grimaced, playing with the ends of her hair before she suddenly fell into a low bow, her arms straight at her side.

"I apologize for my rudeness. Forgive me."

Seiji continued to stare, absolutely startled. Shin, however, grabbed her arm and pulled her up. "While I'm sure Seiji appreciates it, now isn't the time."

"Right, duh," Venus said, smacking her own forehead. She whipped her arm out suddenly, blasting away a youja solider that tried to creep up on her. "So, what do you guys think is in the middle of that soldier fest?"

"Ryo and Shuu," Seiji said, turning his eyes back to the center of the mass of soldiers. They were being held back by something... But the closer he got to the swarm, the stronger the unbearable feeling of darkness grew. "We need to save them—"

"Say no more." Jupiter, the helmet of a youja soldier tucked under her arm, grinned in a way that made Seiji wonder if she was _enjoying_ this. "We're good at rescuing people."

"What do you plan on doing with that hel—"

Shin shut his mouth when Jupiter reeled her arm back and pitched the helmet right into the crowd of soldiers. Five of them fell down. Seiji blinked. "How—"

"Good aim, Jup!" Venus complimented, holding her hand out for a high five. Jupiter slapped her hand enthusiastically. "Anyway, what's the game plan?"

"Charge in there and save them, duh," Jupiter said, raising her eyebrows as if daring one of them to argue. Shin, despite the situation, couldn't help but smile.

"Lead the way," he said. Jupiter turned around quickly and stomped off, already pulling electricity into her fists. Seiji sighed, shouldering his nodachi as he started off after them. He paused when Venus called his name.

"Yes?"

"I really—I'm still upset, believe me," Venus said, her eyes meeting his. "But I understand. Why you weren't there."

Seiji nodded. "It's not your fault," was all he said before he turned back around to race after Jupiter and Shin. By the time they made it to the edge of the mass of soldiers, the feeling of darkness had almost overwhelmed him. Odd, he thought, because he didn't feel like suffocating as he usually did in the presence of darkness...

"Cho ryu ha!"

"Sparkling wide pressure!"

Seiji watched as electricity filtered through the waves of water before flying alone and crashing into the youja soldiers. Venus had also called upon an attack, a small heart of light that burst as it hit a soldier. Lightning and light, how ironic he thought. He raised his nodachi again, leaping into the air. "Rai ko zan!"

Seiji wasn't sure if it was the new armor that gave him power, or if he had grown stronger without knowing. Nevertheless, the amount of youja soldiers that crumbled into dust amazed him.

"Damn, you guys are strong," Jupiter said, eyeing the Kourin nodachi. "One more time, and I think we could get them all."

"Sounds like a plan," Shin said, swinging his yari before attacking again. Jupiter, Venus and Seiji all followed suit, and, true to her words, the youja soldiers all fell. What they saw in the center, however, wasn't at all what they expected.

Ryo, passed out with his helmet knocked off and his armor charred and almost smoking, was on the floor next to Shuu. A pool of blood was seeping from under his armor. Shuu was clutching his own bleeding shoulder with one arm, supporting Usagi's unconscious form with the other. Standing over them with her arms covered in cuts, her school uniform tattered, was Hotaru, her glaive out as she created a barrier. Seiji swallowed, knowing right away that it was her who embodied the feeling of darkness.

Shuu forced a grin at them once the soldiers cleared, but they saw the pain in his eyes. "About time, you guys."

"What happened?" The mirthful look in Venus's eyes was gone as she rushed forward. Hotaru dropped her glaive, panting as she dropped to her knees. "Usagi—"

"She's fine," Shuu said quickly, letting Venus take Usagi from him. He watched as she swept Usagi's hair from her forehead. "She passed out when those guys showed up."

Jupiter cast a dark glance up at Saphir and Demand, who were content to just watch them. "They should be _dead_."

"Shuu, what happened? Are they really that strong?"

At Shin's question, Shuu grit his teeth. "They attacked me when I had my back turned, trying to take Usagi away. Then Ryo tried to take them on himself but... He's okay, Hotaru healed him. Still..."

He trailed off, glancing down. Seiji placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's not your fault."

"I should have been there with Ryo! Both of us together, we could have—"

"Could have gotten defeated together?"

That was Touma, fully armored with his hankyuu ready. Shuu glared half-heartedly. "You're late to the party."

"Why does everyone think this is a party?" Seiji grumbled, more to himself, but Touma smirked anyway.

"We just have so much fun, don't we?" He looked up at Saphir and Demand, a solemn look overcoming his features. "Sailor Jupiter, you should be careful. These guys are after you."

"Uh," Jupiter said, scratching her elbow. Her concerned gaze was still directed at Usagi. "How do you figure?"

"Your friend, Mercury." Touma didn't take his eyes away, not even as Saphir aimed at them again. Touma aimed back, closing one eye. "They think you're the leader."

"Ex_cuse_ me," Venus said, her hands on her hips as Jupiter suddenly looked smug. "They obviously have half a toe if they think _she's_ the leader."

"Do you mean 'half a brain'?" Shin asked. Venus batted her eyelashes at him.

"It's as if you read my mind!" she squealed. Shin blushed as Seiji rolled his eyes.

"Either way, we have to get Ryo and Usagi-san to safety," Shin said, as if Venus hadn't just been hitting on him in the face of danger. "And Sailor Jupiter, you too—"

"No way," Jupiter said, cracking her knuckles. She shook her head, her glare turned up at the two Black Moon clan members. "I've got old business with these guys."

"Fine. Shin, you take Shuu and the others to safety." Seiji glanced back at Shuu, who opened his mouth to protest. "See if you can't fix that shoulder of yours."

"I can still fight."

"Just leave it to us," Touma said. His fixed an arrow, glancing back for a brief moment. "Tomoe, can you see about the holes?"

"They're already closed," Hotaru said quietly. She hadn't moved from her spot, her hand resting on Ryo's neck. Seiji saw a large gash there—healed over, but still raw and red. He then noticed that her hands were faintly glowing and the gash was slowly fading away. "Neptune and Uranus are out scouting for more."

"Thank you," Seiji said. Hotaru didn't respond, instead getting to her feet. She gave Venus a weary glance.

"I'll go with them."

Venus nodded as she handed Usagi to Shuu. She held up her arm; her index finger glowed. "Take care of yourself."

Seiji watched as Shin, supporting Ryo's weight, led Shuu, Usagi and Hotaru away from the scene. He turned back just to see Touma let his arrow fly while Venus shot off another crescent beam. Demand, however, waved his arm and the attacks skittered off to the side.

"Jupiter, I have an idea," Venus whispered, not at all discouraged. Her hand was back at her side, glowing faintly. "I'll grab them—"

"Sure," Jupiter said, seeing the chain materialize. "Or you could grab onto them and I could fry them through you—"

"Try it. But we probably shouldn't be standing together like this." Touma quickly parted from them, leaping away. Seiji followed suit, his eyes narrowed. Saphir had managed to pull out another black flame, larger than the one before. Maybe if he could get Venus to combine her attack with his again...

Except she suddenly acted. Venus threw her whip-like chain out, snagging Saphir by the leg. Jupiter grabbed onto her hand. "Supreme thunder!"

Lightning left her hands and sizzled up the chain, curling around Saphir's form before he gave a spasm. The fire, however, continued to grow, despite his struggle with shaking off Jupiter's attack.

"Jupiter oak evolution!" she growled, trying a second time, with a more powerful attack. This time Saphir let go of the fireball—only to have it wildly shoot out in different directions. Seiji sucked in a deep breath, swinging his nodachi and slicing cleanly through one that headed his way. So the smaller individual fireballs were weaker—that was good.

Until he saw Venus get pummeled in the chest by one. She was thrown back, screaming. Jupiter, a horrified look on her face, scrambled to grab her friend and get her out of more harm's way. Touma briefly glanced over at the scene, but he continued focusing on shooting each stray fireball down.

Seiji took a step back towards Venus and Jupiter, ignoring the bubble in his stomach. Venus was weakly getting back onto her feet, with Jupiter's support. The pain was evident in the way she held onto her wound, though. He could make out blood seeping through her fingers. The attack, it seemed, only resembled fire in appearance—instead, it cute like a sharp blade.

Seiji whirled around, feeling a sudden overwhelming presence of heat. "Ryo—"

He cut himself off short when he saw a red skirt, black hair, and angry violet eyes. Mars had both her hands up, creating an immense wave of fire that licked up the remains of Saphir's attack. The flames quickly disappeared as she threw a disapproving look at him over her shoulder. "Careful," she said.

Seiji hadn't seen her since the recital. Somehow he wanted to let her know that. "I haven't seen you since the recital."

Mars stared at him. Unlike every other person in the world, whom he usually had no problem reading, her face was completely blank to him. And there it was again, that insignificant little feeling that wormed around in his stomach. He usually reserved that feeling for Nasuti, but somehow this girl drew it out full force, smacking him in the face with its desire to desire.

Then Mars whirled back around, quickly forgetting him as she turned her attention back on the battle. "Hashiba, aim with me."

"As you wish," Touma said good-naturedly, raising his hankyuu. He noted with a raised eyebrow as Mars drew a large bow and fitted an arrow of fire. "Left handed?"

"It's why I quit," Mars said, the smallest of smirks on her lips. "Ready when you are."

"Shin kuu ha!"

"Mars flame sniper!"

It was useless, Seiji thought again as Demand flicked the attacks away. But then he and Saphir suddenly tensed up, falling to the ground. Their legs were completely frozen in blocks of ice. Seiji narrowed his eyes before he spotted the small figure in blue a good distance away. "A diversion tactic?"

"Back to the basics," Touma mumbled, nodding his head in approval. "We're so caught up in trying to overpower the enemy when really, a simple diversion would have worked."

"It won't work a second time," Mars said. Her eyes were fixed on Demand, a frown marring her features. "He has no soul."

"You feel it too?" Seiji quelled the weird feelings inside him, switching his grip on his nodachi. "They're already dead."

"Whoever brought them back did a half-assed job," Mars said quietly, ignoring Seiji's startled look at her choice of words. "Mercury's probably doing a scan to confirm."

"Smart girl," Touma said, unable to hide his proud smile. Mars cocked an eyebrow at him but said nothing. "What's next?"

Before Mars could answer, Demand threw an arm up. A large mass of energy gathered; Seiji felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. "We have to—"

"Mercury aqua mirage!"

"Mars snake fire!"

From either side of Demand, their attacks merged but were swallowed up by the energy. It shrunk, only a little; it still pulsed in his hand, yearning for destruction. Mars opened her palm by her side, her eyes trained on the energy. A small flame flared up. The flame crackled from the tips of her fingers.

"After me!" Mercury shouted, darting forward, nearing Saphir and Demand. Her own hands were glowing blue. As soon as she was within arm's reach, she flipped over them. Upside-down and midair, before gravity took over, she cried out, "Shine aqua illusion!"

She landed hard on one knee, watching as Saphir was completely immobilized. Demand's fingers twitched for a moment, struggling to release the ball of energy. Mars sprang forward, the flame in her hand trailing after her. She leapt over Mercury's crouched form; when she landed, she released the flame while slapping two ofuda onto it. The flame separated into two. "Fire soul bird!"

The two separate flames flew straight at Demand and Saphir, flaring up and threatening to swallow her. Mercury stood up, shielding her eyes from the sight with one hand and grabbing Mars to pull her back with the other. Mars reluctantly stepped back and the two exchanged glances. Demand and Saphir's screams echoed throughout the area.

"Those two always worked well together," Jupiter said good-naturedly as she rejoined Touma and Seiji. She was supporting Venus, who had managed to stop the bleeding from her wound. Her uniform, however, was stained with blood.

"Well, they took care of two guys that four of us couldn't handle," Seiji said. "Aino, are you—"

"I'm fine," Venus said. Her gaze was hard. "This black dome thing is still surrounding the city."

"They probably weren't the direct cause of it," Touma mused, watching as Mars and Mercury bent down to check on Demand and Saphir. The screaming had stopped. "Even if we don't know what it does, we have to find the source."

"How do you suppose we do that?" Venus asked. She gingerly touched her wound, wincing a sharp pain ran through her.

"Although I wonder if we could purify it," Touma continued to say, as if she hadn't spoken. "What do you think, Seiji?"

"We can try," Seiji said. He lifted his nodachi, nodding his head up at the sky. "The center?"

"Of course."

Jupiter and Venus watched as Touma fitted an arrow to his hankyuu. He closed his eyes briefly before the arrow started burning with a bright white energy. Jupiter jumped once she realized what she was feeling from the arrow. "That's almost like the crystal," she breathed.

"It's exactly like the crystal," Venus gasped as Seiji swung his nodachi up. It glowed with the same aura as Touma's arrow, although the light at the edges seemed to crackle. She took a step forward, awed. "These guys..."

"Shin kuu ha!"

"Rai ko zan!"

The arrow flew. The nodachi released a large bolt that flew right after it, trailing its path. Mercury and Mars both looked up, eyes wide. "Amazing," Mercury mumbled at the letters her goggles were showing her. The text flew rapidly and freely before her eyes, and she only had a split second to understand. "Energy in its purest, most uncorrupted form..."

Mars didn't need Mercury to tell her. She _felt_ it—the lightest, most genuine—most _powerful_—thing she had ever felt, even more than the ginzuishou. She watched as the arrow and bolt of light pierced the top of the black dome. Cracks rippled through the dome, like shards of glass, before the dome suddenly shattered into uncountable pieces.

"Guess it worked," Touma said, grinning at Seiji. Seiji offered his own smile before he turned his attention to Mars and Mercury. Mercury was hovering over the bodies, typing away furiously at her super computer. Mars stood a little off to the side, her hands on her hips. They were speaking to each other softly.

"They worked together for awhile before we came into the picture," Jupiter said, seeing his gaze. "Sometimes we all forget it since we've been together for so long, but Rei and Ami sort of really get each other."

"They're like the Neptune and Uranus of the guardian Senshi," Venus joked. Then she realized what she had said and turned bright red. She rubbed at her suddenly bleeding nose, smiling stupidly. "Oh, hehe—"

"Oh my god you pervert," Jupiter groaned, slapping her on the back. Venus squawked.

"Oh shut up! Don't tell me you haven't ever wished you were Michiru-san—"

"Not just so I could date Haruka-san!" Jupiter retaliated. Venus huffed, sticking her nose in the air.

"Who's dating me?" Uranus asked as she appeared from the shadows. The light from the setting sun reflected off the jewels on her sword. She held it up and waved it a bit, glancing at the top of the nearest building. They all followed her gaze to see light reflect off of something. "Neptune's up there. Scouting for holes. I think they're all set."

"Where do we go from here?" Jupiter asked. They turned their eyes to Mars and Mercury.

"Touma and I will find Shin and the others," Seiji said. He hesitated before adding, "Will it be alright to meet at Setsuna-san's?"

"Mamoru's place is closer," Venus said, rocking back on her heels. She had her hands laced behind her fingers, watching as Mercury and Mars moved to check the bodies more personally. "I'm sure he'd want to have Usagi near."

"Alright. Hashiba, Date, you two help me with the bodies." Uranus started off, not bothering to wait for the two. "Venus, Jupiter, you two find whoever the others are and bring them to Mamoru's."

Venus and Jupiter left without a word. Seiji stared, wondering how his own plan was overpowered so quickly. His confusion intensified when they neared the bodies. "They're alive?"

Mars gave him a sharp glance. Unlike before, when she had looked at him like he was stupid, her gaze this time was more inquisitive. It was Mercury, however, who spoke. "Yes. When I had scanned them earlier, I had seen faint signs of life. Heartbeats, blood pressure, lungs barely expanding. I had a theory that perhaps there was something clouding our analysis of them, hiding their life source from us. Thankfully Mars followed my lead and understood that she should purify them."

She didn't say what everyone else was thinking. Uranus spoke after a moment. "So then Rubeus, and Esmeraude?"

Mercury hesitantly lifted her eyes to meet the older Senshi's. "Perhaps we had killed them."

Touma cleared his throat. "Mizuno, you don't know that..."

Mercury blinked a few times. The goggles disappeared and she saw him in clear light, her eyes widening. "Oh. Oh, Hashiba, you're—here."

Uranus frowned. "Who did you think it was?"

"I wasn't—I just—I had only assumed it was—I'm not sure," Mercury concluded, fidgeting. Her cheeks were flaming red. Mars turned away, trying not to smirk. "Anyway, I—um, that is, we should—where are we meeting?"

Uranus stared. It was Seiji who answered. "Mamoru's, we agreed on."

"Oh," Mercury said. Then she promptly dropped her smart computer. "Oh dear."

Mars swooped down to grab it. She handed it to Mercury without a word, nodding as Mercury stumbled over a simple 'thank you'. Seiji raised his eyebrows. Touma scratched his cheek.

"You kids are so _weird_," Uranus said. She crouched down, grabbing Demand and hoisting him in her arms. With a bit of effort she managed to stand.

"Haruka, I can carry him—"

"Get the other guy," Uranus said, cutting Touma off. "Hurry up."

Seiji lifted Saphir onto Touma's shoulder, conscious of the fact that Mercury was still fiddling with her hands. The journey to Mamoru's was short but near silent; more than once he caught sight of Mercury opening her mouth to say something before she decided against it. It was obvious, he thought, that sometime between when they had met at the café to now, she had developed a little crush. On Touma. Who had no idea, because he was _Touma_.

Seiji's eyes turned to the unconscious man on Touma's shoulder. He could easily feel Saphir's life flowing strongly through him. Earlier, the two felt so _dead_... It had to take someone very strong to be able to cover up that life force. Someone like Badamon, he thought. But Badamon was gone...

"Hurry up, you're lagging behind," Mars said, giving him a dry glance. His stomach did a flip as he picked up his pace, hoping he looked nonchalant.

Damn hormones.

x

It took awhile, but everyone was eventually situated around Mamoru's living room. Minako tried explaining to the Troopers that it would be okay for them to get out of their subarmors, but they all politely refused.

"Darn," Minako mumbled under her breath, making a fist. She grabbed Makoto by the elbow, leaning over conspiratorially. She dropped her voice to a whisper. "You think they're nude under there?"

"Minako, you—" Makoto made to argue before she paused. Despite herself, her eyes skimmed over Shin briefly. Minako grinned, nudging her.

"Minako knows best," she sang as Makoto's quickly shook her head.

"You're rubbing off on me way too much—"

"What are you girls giggling about?" Michiru asked politely, handing Shin a cup of tea. Makoto grimaced, knowing that Michiru knew. Michiru _always_ knew.

"Nothing, nothing," Makoto said, trying to look innocent. She wondered if it worked. Probably not, seeing Michiru's quirked eyebrow. Makoto sat up straight, playing with her hands awkwardly. She was sharing one sofa with Haruka and Minako, while Ami and Michiru took the other. "We're waiting for Usagi to wake up?"

"Could take awhile," Haruka joked, earning a smile from most of the Senshi. Shin allowed himself to crack a smile, but Seiji, from his spot perched on the arm of Haruka's sofa, inaudibly sighed. They were taking the situation very well, he thought—too well. He understood that they went through a lot (Touma had shared with all of them his meeting with Mizuno), and he understood that different people had different ways of coping. But he just couldn't get used to their method of handling things.

"May I ask where Setsuna is?" Shin asked from where he sat around a table with Shuu and Rei. Touma was on the floor by them, his chin in his hands.

"Active duty," Michiru answered swiftly. The Senshi understood that she meant Time Gates. The Troopers, however, blinked. "Sorry, I mean—she has other obligations that extend beyond protecting the world."

"Okay," Shuu said, not fully understanding as he rubbed his bandaged shoulder. He had refused to let Hotaru heal him after he learned that it took her own energy to do so. "So... Mizuno, Touma told us about your theory."

Ami's shoulders scrunched up as she fixed her gaze on the carpet. "It might have a few loopholes, I know, but there is sufficient enough evidence—or rather, coincidence—to suggest that these enemies—assuming that they are enemies and not misguided, of course—have a fixation on Sanada—or perhaps it is the armor he bears, although it makes me question why they would not target yours, unless they are after the Kikoutei, which H—hashiba has told me no longer exists—"

Minako coughed. Ami blushed once she realized she was rambling.

"I—I mean to say—"

"They're not misguided," Rei said, coming to her rescue. "Their aura doesn't feel that way. Whoever this enemy is, they're probably using the Black Moon clan to hit us emotionally."

"Pfft," Minako said, crossing her legs and scowling. "If by emotionally you mean 'to piss us off,' then I agree."

Makoto cast a dark look down the hallway, to Mamoru's room where Usagi and Ryo, both unconscious still, were being watched over by Mamoru and Hotaru. Demand and Saphir were also in the room; Hotaru had stabbed her glaive into the floor between their bodies, saying that her Silent Wall technique would act as a barrier if they woke up and tried anything. Mamoru tried not to have a heart attack over his damaged hardwood floor. "She really said they were good people?"

"Yeah," Shuu answered, catching the look on her face. "You don't seem to believe it."

Makoto met his gaze. He was surprised at how _angry_ it was. "That guy Demand? Oh yeah. Don't believe it at all."

"Something tells me we're missing out here," Haruka said, surprising Shin.

"You don't know this enemy?"

"No," Michiru replied honestly. "This was before we were awakened."

"You don't need to know them," Rei said flatly, flicking a strand of hair over her shoulder. Haruka rubbed her chin, leaning forward.

"You guys sure are defensive."

"Demand sucks," Minako said, waving her hand in the air. "Like big time. And of course Usagi is too busy living like a rainbow to really see that—"

"Isn't that a little harsh?" Shuu asked. "She probably has a reason for thinking he's okay—"

"Don't get us wrong, we love her to death," Makoto quickly explained, seeing how he looked a bit offended. "But really, Usagi trusts people way too much."

"I'm hoping that wasn't a jab at us," Seiji said dryly. Makoto narrowed her eyes, trying not to take offense.

"Of course not," she mumbled, thought it_ was_ true that Usagi had reprimanded the Senshi more than once for being distrustful of the Boys from the Roof.

"Did you get anything from the dome they were trying to surround the city with?" Touma asked suddenly. He had been quiet since they had arrived at Mamoru's lost deep in thought. At the sound of his voice, Ami jumped.

"I—just only a little. It was, well, my computer," she said, looking helplessly around. Minako was grinning, Makoto looked concerned, and Rei just stared. "It's—the energy—the same one that kept Demand and Saphir dead—it was expanding, like—like."

She fell quiet, looking absolutely bothered. Haruka squinted at her, head tilted, as Michiru covered up a laugh by taking a sip of her tea. Minako's grin widened. "Do go on."

"Um," Ami whispered, looking at her feet. "That is—the source of the dome they were trying to create, it's the same as whatever was shielding their life energy."

"I see," Touma said, closing his eyes.

"Touma? What are you thinking?" Shin asked. Touma sighed.

"Just that if it were the same energy source, then maybe the dome was meant to do the same thing to us."

"Come again?" Minako asked politely.

Touma opened his eyes, looking at her. "As in turn the whole city into mindless, almost-dead soldiers."

"Well that's morbid," Makoto said, leaning back and crossing her arms. She fixed her gaze on Ami. "You agree?"

"It's feasible," Ami admitted, running a hand through her hair. She seemed to have forgotten her nerves in light of the new theory. "Most likely. I do wonder, though—Setsuna has Rubeus's remains still, does she not? What was she able to conclude?"

"Beats me," Haruka shrugged as Michiru explained, "She compared the remains to dust from Planet Nemesis. Close match, something like that."

"What's a Planet Nemesis?" Shuu asked, butting into the conversation.

"Beats me," Haruka repeated as Ami answered, "A planet from the future, actually."

"Does anyone else think it's kind of weird that Setsuna just has Planet Nemesis dust lying around?" Makoto pointed out.

"Or the fact that she's analyzing dead bodies?" Shuu input. He glanced over at Shin before adding slyly, "Your girlfriend's a little odd."

"Girlfriend?" Minako's eyes bugged out, her hand clutching her chest. "You're dating Setsuna?!"

"N—no!" Shin protested, wondering how the conversation quickly turned to his love life. "We're good friends, actually, just that—"

"Good," Minako said, winking. Shin smiled uneasily at her mood change.

"Minako, leave the poor boy alone," Michiru reprimanded. "And Setsuna is _not_ odd, she is just curious."

"Right, anyway," Haruka said, sensing that Michiru was starting to become irritated with all the young kids in the room. The two of them weren't that much older, but there was a gap in the maturity. Maybe except for Shin and Seiji. They seemed like good kids. "So far we know this—dead guys are showing up, except they're not really dead, just fake dead."

"The youja soldiers seem real enough," Touma mused. "Part of me thinks maybe an old enemy of ours..."

"Badamon?" Seiji asked sharply. "I had the same thought."

"I wonder if there's a way to contact Kayura," Shin said. "She would know if something is amiss in the Youjakai."

"No thanks," Shuu said, grimacing. "It's great that she's on our side, but she was kind of crazy—"

For some reason, he looked at Rei. Rei looked back, giving him her best death stare, even though she had no clue why. Unperturbed, Shuu winked at her before turning back to the conversation.

"There has to be some way. Maybe Setsuna-san could get us in contact with the Youjakai?" Seiji asked, glancing at Haruka.

"Right, sure, we could ask her sometime. Who's Kayura?"

"A descendent of Kaos," Shin supplied. "We've had—history with her. It's actually quite a long story, but in the end, she's on our side now. She's currently the empress of the Youjakai, so she might have an idea of what's going on."

"Rei, have you seen anything lately?" Michiru asked. Rei looked up at her, wondering if her face was betraying her emotions.

"No," she lied, her voice even. How sad, she thought, that it came from practice over the years—practice of telling her fellow Senshi that everything was okay when it really wasn't. If anyone could read through her, it would be Michiru. The older Senshi, however, seemed to trust her. It almost guilted Rei into telling the truth, but she maintained her composure easily. "Have you?"

"Unfortunately not," Michiru said, smiling sadly. "I was thinking that maybe your skills have heightened over the years."

"If you haven't seen anything, Michiru, then I doubt I would have," Rei said kindly.

"Suck up," Minako said, at which Makoto smirked. Rei ignored them both.

"What are you guys talking about?" Shuu asked, giving Rei another look. She really was turning out to be a crazy crow-loving shrine lady.

"Rei has spooky mind powers," Makoto answered. The way Rei didn't seem offended led Shin to believe that it was some kind of an inside joke.

"So like Seiji then," Shuu said. Seiji started, glaring at Shuu. "Don't look at me like that! You know it's true."

"Seiji is unusually perceptive," Shin said when he saw Ami's curious glance. She nodded, her gaze travelling to Rei. Again, the priestess looked rather unbothered. It was almost ridiculous, she thought, that they would act so differently because of this new group of allies. Makoto was trying to play it cool, Minako was more overenthusiastic than usual, and Rei was as haughty as she had been when they first started out as Senshi. As for herself—Ami knew she was a stuttering mess, but she wondered if part of it was due to Hashiba. Ever since she had realized their scandalous (by her standards, anyway) night together, she had been a wreck. At least she was no longer having an allergic reaction...

Suddenly Rei stood up, running across the living room with a speed none of the Senshi had ever seen before. Seiji's head whipped towards Mamoru's bedroom door. "They're gone," Rei hissed as she threw open the door, ofuda ready at her fingertips.

"Gone?" Shin repeated, the second to reach the door. Over her shoulder, he stared at the scene in front of him. There was a large black hole on the ground, much like the ones the youja soldiers came out of. Mamoru was standing in front of Usagi, who was blinking wearily as if she had just woken up. Ryo was still unconscious, on the bed.

"The enemy opened a portal underneath them," Hotaru said, meeting Shin's gaze evenly. "They worked around the barrier."

"Damn it," Makoto said, her fist thumping against the doorframe. Beside her, Shuu grit his teeth.

"Cowards," he muttered. "Couldn't fight us directly so they took the easy way out."

"What do we do now?" Minako asked from the back of the group lingering by the door. She was barely breathing as she watched the hole. So they could open up anywhere, she realized. That meant that the city wasn't safe anywhere. But that also meant the enemy didn't know exactly how to target them specifically—otherwise they would have opened the holes in their personal homes.

"Let me take a quick reading," Ami said, already at work on her super computer. It was a moment before Ami nodded. "Got it. Hotaru, please close it, quickly. There's a large energy source on the other side."

"The Youjakai," Touma said suddenly, his eyes on Hotaru as she seemed to grab at the edges of the hole. "I released an arrow into the hole in the battle against—Rubeus, was it? And the energy that surrounded the arrow felt the same as the Youjakai's."

"Guess we'd better get a hold of this Kayura girl," Haruka said. She watched as Mamoru pulled a shocked Usagi into his arms.

"What's going on?" Usagi whispered to him, her hand cupped around his ear. "What happened? I just remember—Demand, and Saphir—"

"We can explain later," Mamoru said, running his fingers against her bangs. "You're safe now."

The portal was just wide enough for Hotaru to grab onto both ends. She kneeled, puckering up her lips in concentration as she moved to push the two ends together. Everyone watched as the ends slowly started to close.

"That's kind of cool," Minako said to Michiru. "Wish we could do that."

"It can be a pain," Michiru said calmly, shrugging.

"Especially when they're eighty feet in the air," Haruka added, nodding in agreement.

"You're just afraid of heights," Hotaru sniped over her shoulder. She and Michiru shared a grin as Haruka pouted.

"That is a blatant lie!"

Then Hotaru gasped, glancing down in shock at the hole. There was something heavy beckoning at her, like a gravitational pull. She tried to lean back, but the pull was too strong. She couldn't even move her hands. All eyes were on her again as she braced one foot against the edge of the hole, trying to pry her hands away.

"Hotaru—princess, what's wrong—shit—"

Haruka was cut off as Hotaru fell _into the hole_. Her fingers were the last things they saw of her—still grasping the edges—until the hole closed shut. There was a deafening silence that filled the room. Minako snuck a fearful glance at Haruka and Michiru. To their credit, both of them were taking it well—as well as any parent who just lost their child to a supernatural wormhole could be.

Michiru stepped forward first, crouching down at the spot where the hole had been. Her fingers traced the now non-existent hole, trailing slowly along the ghost of the edges. "The Youjakai, you said?"

"It's a theory," Touma said, glancing at Haruka. Her fists were clenched and her jaw was tight, but her eyes betrayed nothing about how she felt. "Though I would bet my life that the holes lead there."

Michiru stood up so quickly that he thought she was going to fall over. Her cold gaze met his. "You _will_ find a way to contact this empress Kayura."

"You'll be the first to know," Shin said reassuringly. Michiru bowed her head at him in quick thanks before she approached Haruka's side again. Haruka touched her elbow and they shared a private look.

"Ugh, what killed me?" Ryo moaned. He slowly sat up in bed, running a hand through his even messier hair. After a large yawn, he finally realized that there were other people in the room, and they were all staring at him. "What happened?"

"Oh man," Shuu said, casting a look around. "Who wants to start?"

* * *

**an** thank you for the reviews! thank you for reading! i hope you enjoy!


	10. Chapter 10

**ten**

"I can contact Empress Kayura," Setsuna's voice crackled through the communicator, "but that conversation will only be between the two of us. I cannot allow anyone else to use the Time Gates."

"What, no loopholes?" Minako asked cheekily. She could just imagine Setsuna politely ignoring her.

"Is there any way for all of us to speak with her?" Touma asked, leaning over Michiru's shoulder to speak to the communicator. "There are some things I'd like to ask her."

"Neptune's mirror will be capable. Allow me to speak with her first, though. We will all meet tomorrow, yes?"

"Alright," Michiru said, cutting off Touma before he could respond. "Take care, Setsuna."

"You as well."

Michiru pressed a button on the wristwatch, ending communication with Setsuna. She let out a low sigh, leaning into Haruka's shoulder. The two of them were quiet for a moment before Haruka spoke up. "There's nothing else we can do except wait."

"I can't believe this," Makoto mumbled, lacing her hands behind her neck. "They had the nerve to take Demand and Saphir back."

"Those two probably would have told us everything," Ami said. The Mercury goggles were still over her eyes as she idly pressed buttons on the computer. Since the disappearance, she had been trying to find traces of their energy, with no luck so far.

"This is horrible," Usagi whispered, more to herself. She wrapped her arms around herself, casting a glance out the balcony door. Night had fallen long ago, but the moon was covered by clouds. She had never truly forgotten about the Black Moon clan, but she _had_ pushed them to the back of her mind. It was just too hard to juggle all their enemies. And the last stint, with Galaxia and Chaos...

"It is," Seiji said, and Usagi looked up to see a kind smile on his face. "But we will figure something out, Usagi-san."

Usagi reluctantly mirrored his smile. "Yeah, you're right."

"Well," Haruka said, standing up and clasping Michiru's hand in hers. "We'll see you kids later."

"Where are you going?" Shuu asked. He couldn't help but think there was something fishy going on. The two of them had just lost their daughter, and Ryo reacted even more strongly than they had ("What do you mean, she fell in the hole?!" to which Haruka gave him a dry look and responded, "She's _my_ daughter, kid, I'm allowed to freak out, not you."). He had whispered his suspicions to Makoto, who merely shrugged and said they were a bit more distant.

"Home," Haruka said, as if it were obvious. She waved at Mamoru before winking at Usagi. "Bye, kitten."

Michiru said her farewells as well. Everyone watched as the door closed behind them; then Minako let out a huge groan. "Oh _man_, I always feel like I have to be on my best behavior with them."

"You call that your best behavior?" Shuu asked, grinning. Minako stuck out her tongue as she fell into the seat next to Ryo.

"Anyway, what should we do now?" She looked pointedly at Ami, who ignored her as she continued fussing with her computer. "I know the obvious thing is to wait, but I can't sit still."

"Yeah," Makoto agreed, stretching. "It's getting late, though..."

"Right. I'm going," Rei said abruptly, standing up. She picked her purse up from the coffee table, making her way to the door. "Let me know if something happens."

"Wait!" Usagi suddenly cried out. "Hey, where are we meeting tomorrow? Setsuna said we'd meet, right? Is the shrine okay?"

Rei shook her head, slipping on her heels. "Unfortunately not. Ojiisan is having a hanami with a few of his old friends."

"That social old fart," Minako said, grinning. "How about your place, Ami?"

Ami glanced up. Once she caught the look on Minako's face, she turned beet red. "Oh no, I possibly can't, my mother—she's on—she's home, and I—"

"Our place," Ryo said, and everyone jumped. For the past fifteen minutes, he had been sitting deep in thought with his elbows on his knees and his fingers laced. His expression now was clear, compared to the angry sulk he had been in. "Is that okay, Seiji?"

"It's fine," Seiji said, although it really wasn't.

"Good idea," Shuu agreed. "It's the biggest out of all our apartments."

"And the cleanest," Shin said, raising his eyebrows at Shuu. Shuu just grinned charmingly. "Anyway, I assume Setsuna will contact me, but if not, one of you?"

"Probably me," Minako said, crossing her legs and leaning forward. "Should we exchange information so I can let you know, just in case?"

Her eyes were right on Shin, who gave that nervous, nervous smile. Seiji looked unamused, but Shuu was smirking. Ryo, however, nodded. "Yeah, sure. You have your phone? I'll put my number in."

In any other circumstances, Minako would have pouted. Ryo, however, was just as good-looking in her eyes, so she counted it as a victory rather than a loss. With a flourish, she gave him her phone back. "Here you go."

Makoto, Ami and Mamoru all grimaced as she gave him a smarmy wink. He didn't even seem to notice; he just grinned at her. "Great. Just let me know when and Seiji and I will get the place ready."

"Ah!" Usagi suddenly said, digging through her pockets for her phone. "We should tell Chibiusa. As much as I want to see her freaked out, I really don't want to sit through a lecture."

"Your little sister lectures you?" Touma asked. Usagi rolled her eyes.

"More like my cat."

Mamoru suppressed a laugh as he stood up from his seat. "You need me to walk you back, Rei?" Rei gave him a look, as if to say, "Are you kidding me?" Mamoru shrugged as he sat back down. "You're right, what was I thinking?"

"Ah, I'll go with you," Makoto sighed, swinging to her feet. "It's on the way."

As everyone said their farewells to the two, Usagi excused herself to speak with Chibiusa. Ami's gaze followed her out of the room before they settled on Mamoru. She could see the worry in his eyes. Frowning, Ami turned back to her computer. She had tried every variation she could on the original energy that Saphir and Demand had emitted, but there was no match. That meant the portals led to not another place, but another world. The Youjakai, just like Touma had said.

She snapped out of her thoughts to see the Troopers all gathered by the door. Ami stood up, bowing. "Be safe on your way home," she called out.

"As you wish," Shuu joked, winking at her. Caught unaware, Ami froze. Minako looked impish as she poked her friend in the side.

"Whatever is the matter with you, Ami?"

"Nothing," Ami said robotically. Really, she thought she had grown out of her awkward teenage phase. "Have a good night."

"You as well," Touma said, smiling at her. Seiji nudged him and he gave him a confused glance. "What?"

"Nothing," Seiji said. "Thank you for having us, Mamoru-san."

"No problem," Mamoru said as he saw them out the door. The second the door closed, Minako turned on Ami.

"Oh my _god_," she said, shaking the girl by the shoulders. "Ami you are in _love_!"

"W—what?!" Ami squeaked, her eyes widening in horror. "I—that's not—"

"Don't tell me you don't think Touma is, like, _the_ modern day Einstein!"

"I—I don't—" Ami buried her face in her hands. "How can I possibly be thinking about something like this when the world is in danger?"

"Oh whatever, Mizuno!" Minako cackled as she threw her arm around Ami's shoulder. "Too bad, because I had my eye on him as well. Are you willing to share?"

"M—minako," Ami said weakly. "Take him. Really, I don't need—"

"Pfft," Minako said, shaking her hand. "I already have my hands full with Ryo, Seiji, Shuu and Shin. I can't add Touma to my list."

"And aren't you being a bit forward, shouldn't you address them more politely? Sanada and Date and—"

"Ami, Ami, Ami," Minako said, leaning into her friend's face. "You have _much_ to learn about men."

Mamoru, standing behind them, sighed exasperatedly. "_You_ have much to learn about men, Minako. For example, Shin? He looks deathly afraid every time you hit on him."

"He does _not_," Minako huffed. "You are so lucky that you were destined for Usagi, or else you'd be a single man forever."

"Oh get out of here," Mamoru scowled, opening his door and motioning her out.

x

The morning was bleaker than he thought it would. Shin checked his messages a third time; Minako had said meet at ten, but Setsuna said eleven. He told Seiji and Ryo ten, just in case (although, of course, he was more inclined to trust Setsuna on this one). Shuu grumbled the whole time that it was a good thing Ryo and Seiji lived within walking distance. "Otherwise my beauty sleep will be compromised."

"Beauty sleep, was it?" Shin asked as Shuu smelled a pair of jeans before shrugging them on. They bounded out the apartment minutes later; Shuu didn't even bother combing his hair, choosing instead to cover it up with a fedora.

He and Shuu turned the corner to find Minako and Makoto looking at their phones with confused stares. "I'm pretty sure this is it," Minako was saying, whacking her phone against the palm of her hand.

"That's what you said the last time, and we were on our way to Nakano," Makoto replied distractedly, swiping at her screen. She absently tugged on the bottom of her dress as she waited for her phone. Shuu tilted his head, wondering why he had never noticed her legs. Oh, because of the whole gigantic yankee thing, that was why.

"Nakano, Shinjuku, same thing," Minako said, hand on her hip as she glanced at a street sign. Unlike Makoto's yellow dress, she was wearing a floral tank top with a pair of white slacks. Shuu thought they looked like an odd pair. Then he realized who he himself was standing next to, and what a peculiar sight it must have been to everyone else.

"Hey, you ladies lost?" Shuu called out, adjusting his grip on the tray he held. Shin also carried a similar tray—snacks the two of them had made for this get together. Makoto's face eased into relief when she saw them. Minako beamed.

"Hey, handsome," she greeted Shuu. "You're lookin' cute in that hat."

"Cute?" Shuu scoffed. "I hope you honestly mean dashing."

Makoto and Shin politely tried not to make disgusted faces at their friends' shameless flirting. "Their place is just down the street," Shin said as Minako let out an airy giggle.

"That's what I thought, but Minako was saying it's the opposite way—"

"Oh come on, Mako, it takes a lot of love to move in the opposite direction," Minako said, slipping her phone in her back pocket. Shin resisted the urge to correct her.

"I'm starting to wonder if you just make these things up," Makoto said as the group headed on their way. Minako eyed Shin's plaid pants for a moment before she nodded to herself.

"A man of risk. I like that."

"Pardon?" Shin asked, just as Makoto whispered, "Ignore her, it'll make you feel better."

The four of them quickly made their way into the building. It was weird, Makoto thought, that they were all so friendly with each other. Just two days ago they acted as if they were enemies. Minako seemed to get over her grudge quickly, too. She pushed the thoughts in the back of her mind when Seiji opened the door to the apartment.

"Where can we put these?" Shin asked, grabbing the other tray from Shuu.

"Anywhere is fine," Seiji said, sounding a bit distracted as Minako kicked off her shoes.

"Oh? What did you bring?" Makoto asked.

Shin made his way to the coffee table. "Just something Shuu and I decided to make. I figure Ryo wouldn't have thought of it, and Seiji would be too busy trying to get things in order."

"Hey!" Ryo called from the kitchen. "I take offense."

He made his way into the living room, smiling brightly at the assembled group. Makoto and Minako took one look at the short ponytail he had pulled his hair into before they shared solemn glances. Wordlessly the two raised their fists and played a round of rock, paper and scissors. Makoto hung her head when Minako's paper wrapped her rock.

"So, Ryo," Minako said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I like the place."

"Ah, it's more Seiji's than mine," Ryo said, clueless to her flirting, before turning to Shin. "These the cookies Shuu bragged about last night?"

"You know it," Shuu said, thumping him on the back.

"Two out of three," Makoto hissed, grabbing the back of Minako's shirt as she made to follow Ryo.

"No way, I won fair and square—"

"Oh come on, you can't hog them all—"

"Watch me," Minako said almost snootily before she stepped forward, hands behind her back. "Seiji, do you need me to help with anything?"

"No, we're fine," Seiji mumbled, still not used to her casual manner. "Please, have a seat."

It was another half hour before most of the party had gathered. Haruka and Michiru, wearing matching dresses in different colors, had been the latest arrival; surprisingly, Usagi had made it on time. Minako pointed out that it was probably due to Mamoru, not because she was maturing; this led to an intense battle of name-calling. While this was going on, Seiji took a quick headcount, noting that only Touma and Rei were missing.

"That's weird," Makoto commented. "Rei's usually punctual."

"She had a meeting," Ami said, smoothing out her skirt. "She said she'd try to get out of it, though."

"Touma probably fell asleep on the bus again," Shuu said, shaking his head. He and Shin shared a laugh. The last time they had Touma meet them somewhere, he had dozed off on the bus. He ended up riding the same route for an hour before he woke up and realized what had happened.

"Would anyone like more tea?" Seiji asked. Setsuna was the only one who accepted his offer, smiling politely. When he grabbed her cup, he got a full blast of her eyes again—all knowing, yet so guarded. He wondered again how she and Shin had become good friends. For some reason, he couldn't help but think Setsuna was hiding something.

The door opened. Touma strolled in, kicking off his shoes and arranging them by the door. He greeted everyone politely before taking a seat next to Usagi. Minako and Makoto eyed his glasses before exchanging glares across the room. They subtly played another game; Makoto cheered silently when her scissors beat Minako's paper.

"Sorry I'm late," Touma said, completely oblivious as he grabbed a snack off the table.

"Oh we weren't waiting long," Makoto said, smiling brightly as he inclined his head in a nod at her. Minako pouted.

Touma glanced around the room before he popped the snack into his mouth. A second later, he gave Shin a thumbs-up. "Another success, my friend."

"Shuu actually made those," Shin corrected.

"No way?" Touma gave Shuu an incredulous glance. "I'm impressed."

"What can I say? I'm a quick learner."

Makoto curiously grabbed a cookie off the tray. She bit into it and chewed thoughtfully before her eyes lit up. "I agree, these are delicious, Shuu."

"Woah, praise from _the_ cooking queen?" Minako teased. "You should feel honored. She's a student from _Le Cordon Bleu_."

"Oh hush, Minako," Makoto said, suddenly aware that all eyes were on her. She blushed, munching on the cookie.

"Le Cordon Bleu? That's amazing," Shin complimented. "Your dinner the other day at the shrine was wonderful, it's no wonder."

"Ah! Remember at Juuban, when the track and cooking club fought over you?" Usagi started giggling, turning to Ami.

"Right, and she ended up choosing the gardening club," Ami finished, shaking her head at the memory. For being seemingly calm, the cooking club could be very threatening.

"You all went to Juuban?" Ryo asked. "That must have been nice, to have you all there."

"Yeah, we were pretty infamous," Minako said with a grin as Ami and Makoto looked a bit embarrassed. "They called us Peach Hips."

"Peach Hips?" Shuu made a face. "Sounds like a drink to me."

"Minako, you and Usagi were the only ones that called us that," Makoto said.

"So?" Usagi pouted, grabbing three cookies. "Anyway, we weren't _nearly_ as popular as those two over there."

Haruka shrugged as Michiru smiled. Touma squinted, wondering if he was actually seeing rose petals fall in the background, or if it was a trick of the light. He was spared from further thought when there was a knock at the door. Ryo sprung up to answer it.

Rei bowed to everyone, looking the very part of a businesswoman in her blazer and button-up shirt—except for the tiny black miniskirt she wore. Haruka let out a whistle. "Wow, what were you trying to do, seduce your father's bodyguards to let you come this way?"

"It worked, didn't it?" Rei replied in good humor, taking a seat on the other side of Usagi. "I apologize for being late."

"No problem at all," Ryo said. He looked expectantly at Setsuna. "So we're all here, right?"

"Right." Setsuna glanced at Michiru, who pulled out the Deep Aqua mirror. "Empress Kayura and I discussed at length about the source of the holes. She suspects that it is from Elysion."

"Come again?" Usagi said dumbly, staring. "Does that mean..."

She looked at Mamoru, who was frowning faintly.

"We're not sure," Setsuna said. "Hotaru, however, is safe. She managed to find herself under Empress Kayura's care."

"This is so weird," Shuu said. "_Empress_ Kayura."

"Do you know what you want to ask her?" Setsuna addressed Touma, who nodded with certainty.

"Yeah, of course."

"Hope it's not a date," Ryo joked, at which Touma gave him a dry look. Minako's eyebrows shot up at the new information, but she was interrupted when Michiru spoke.

"Submarine reflection," she said, and her voice serene as ever. The surface of the mirror seemed to glimmer before it was replaced with an image of a young woman in robes.

"Empress Kayura," Setsuna said, inclining her head. Everyone craned their necks to get a good glance at the mirror.

"Guardian Pluto," Kayura said. Haruka started, giving Michiru an odd glance.

"She sounds just like you," Haruka hissed. Michiru fought the urge to roll her eyes.

"Kayura," Touma said, a smile at his lips. "How are you?"

"Tenkuu no Touma," Kayura said, her eyes widening. "Should I assume the rest of the samurai Troopers—"

"Yo," Shuu said, poking his face within her line of sight. Shin, right behind him, waved. "Ryo and Seiji are here, too."

Kayura clasped her hands together, beaming. "How wonderful! When I heard the Kikoutei was destroyed, I had been worried, but Rajura said that he felt you five were alright through the bond of your armors. He mentioned, however, that your armors feel different—"

"Something like that," Seiji said. Kayura was peeking around the mirror, trying to catch a glimpse of him. "That's another story for later."

"Kayura, I have a few questions," Touma said, bringing her attention back. "These portals, do you know how they're made?"

"A very dark magic," Kayura said without hesitating. "We've felt it for a long time here, although we can't exactly pinpoint the location. I've sent Anubis and Naaza out scouting, and they've run into legions of possessed youja soldiers. But as for the direct source of the dark magic, it is a mystery."

"I see," Touma said, glancing away. He sighed. "Some of us suspect that Badamon could have been behind this..."

"Badamon is dead," Kayura said shortly. She met eyes with Setsuna, who nodded, as if to confirm.

"Do you have any idea what could be causing this disturbance?" Michiru asked, turning the mirror so Kayura could see her. Kayura seemed hesitant to answer.

"I have a theory," she said slowly. "As you know, the Youjakai and Elysion are like mirror opposites. I think—"

"Wait, what?" Minako interrupted. She waved the mirror away when Michiru tried to adjust the angle to fit her in. "What does Elysion have to do with anything?"

"It's like this," Setsuna said, holding her hand up. "The back of my hand is the Youjakai, and Elysion is my palm. They rely on each other to balance each other out. When the Youjakai was taken over, Elysion did not suffer right away. Elysion's strength weakened about a year later—when Helios had been captured."

"Wow," Makoto said, leaning back in her seat. "That's kind of—nuts."

"But it makes sense," Ami mumbled, chewing on her lip. "Please, Empress, continue."

Kayura, who had been trying to peer at whoever the new voices belonged to, nodded. "As I was saying, I think Elysion is a key role in this—situation. Travelling from Elysion to the human world is difficult, as you know, so I imagine the Youjakai is being used as a stepping tool to your world."

"Something's not right, though," Haruka said after a moment of silence. "We all are tied to Elysion."

"I see," Kayura frowned. "But your prince does not feel a thing?"

"Oi, Mamoru, you feel anything?" Haruka shouted. Mamoru paused, holding his hands in front of his chest. Seiji almost fell out of his seat when he saw the Golden Crystal appear—it wasn't that it materialized from out of thin air, but rather the sheer amount of energy radiating from it overwhelmed him.

"It looks and feels the same," Mamoru said. The crystal disappeared. Haruka relayed the information to Kayura, whose frown deepened.

"Maybe Elysion is being held hostage," Michiru said, glancing at Setsuna. Setsuna looked curious. "Nothing could be wrong physically with the land, just that someone took over."

"But horse boy said he had it under control." Haruka leaned closer to the mirror, eyebrow cocked at Kayura. "You sure it's them?"

"It is only my suspicion."

"Is there a way we can come to the Youjakai?"

At Haruka's question, Setsuna nodded. "I believe Arago's portal is still open, Empress?"

"Yes, as you had requested when I first took rule of this land."

"The portal will allow us to return to this world. We will attempt to create a gate here on our side," Setsuna said, looking at Ryo. He met her gaze evenly, although confusion was evident on his face. "We will contact you before then."

"I will be expecting you." Kayura bowed her head.

"And thank you for taking care of our daughter. These two have been worried sick over her."

"You have our gratitude," Michiru said, smiling. "If there is any way we can repay you..."

"Not at all." Kayura put a finger to her lip before she said, "Samurai Troopers, I am glad you are well. If there is anything I can do for you—"

"You don't owe us anything," Shin said, smiling at her. "Just take care of the Youjakai."

Kayura beamed, bowing her head again. "Guardian Pluto, please let me know when you are ready."

"Of course. Thank you, again," Setsuna said. The mirror's image slowly faded away before it reflected Michiru's deep blue eyes. The three older Senshi all sighed.

"So," Ryo said, twiddling his thumbs, "what's Elysion?"

A half hour later, he regretted asking. Ami and Mamoru were still taking them all through Elysion's history; he didn't mind, of course not, but he was sure their words were starting to mash together. Either that, or his brain couldn't really handle it. His train of thought trailed off, back to the conversation with Kayura. Why had Setsuna looked at him like that when she mentioned opening a gate? And if Hotaru was safe, why wasn't she in the conversation? Of course she was safe, he thought with a slight scowl. Kayura wouldn't lie.

Ryo tugged at the end of his ponytail before he excused himself. He made his way to the kitchen, intent on getting a drink. Minako was right on his heels. "Hey!"

"Oh, hey," Ryo said, blinking at her. He really was a bit awkward at this whole good host thing. "Can I get you anything?"

"I'm fine," Minako said coyly. "Just wanted to see how you are."

"Oh," Ryo said, giving her a suspicious glance. He turned back to the kitchen, surprised to see Rei leaning against the counter by the sink. She clutched a glass of water in her hands, but her eyes were staring at the tiles on the floor. Minako peeked over his shoulder, blinking.

"Oi, Hino, whatcha thinking?"

Rei's calm expression quickly turned into annoyance. "I was trying to think, but your screeching voice—"

"Beautiful tone," Minako corrected.

"Whatever," Rei said, setting the glass on the counter. She gave Minako a long, withering glance before she disappeared from the kitchen. The second she was gone, Ryo rubbed his arms.

"Man, no offense, but she gives me the chills."

"Yeah, she's a weirdo," Minako said fondly. She picked up Rei's glass and drank from it. "Actually, I did want to speak to you in private."

"Oh," Ryo said, pouring himself a glass of water. "What's up?"

"I know this is different," Minako said, one hand on the counter. "Us, and you guys. It's really different, and I'm not sure how I feel about it still. But I'm willing to work together, of course. Put these differences aside. I'm sorry for the way I acted earlier, at the festival. It's just—we come from very different backgrounds. You guys were chosen for these armors, but we were destined to be Senshi."

Ryo was quiet for a moment, just staring at her face. Minako glanced away, feeling her cheeks heat up. He really did have an intense gaze.

"You know," Ryo said quietly, not looking away, "being chosen is sort of like being destined for something. We couldn't say no. If we did, the world would have ended."

"I suppose," Minako said. She set the cup down, playing with the hem of her shirt. "Sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I'm sort of hard-headed, you see. Rash, impulsive. I don't think before I act."

"Same here," Ryo said with a slight smile. "It's kind of like a relief to us. That we're not the only ones out there. That other people can understand what we're going through. That other people can _help_. It doesn't matter to me that you didn't help before. It matters to me that we're doing something now."

Minako looked up at him, feeling her heart skip. This was not an attraction, she thought. This was not because he looked good, or because he had a smooth voice, or because his eyes were so crystal blue. This was admiration—complete admiration at who he was as a leader. She nodded slightly, feeling breathless and determined—determined to match up to him, because she was _not_ going to feel incompetent as a leader again. "I understand."

"Good," Ryo said, finally looking away. He took a long drink out of his glass before setting it down. "Let's head back?"

"Sure," Minako said, and she surprised him by looping her arm through his. She practically dragged him back with a smug smile. Makoto gave her a look, as if to say, "Oh yeah?" before she tapped Touma on the shoulder and asked him to pass her a cookie.

"Are you leaving?" Ryo pulled his arm from Minako's, making his way to the door where Haruka, Michiru and Setsuna stood. Shin was seeing them off.

"Yes, I have to get back to my duties," Setsuna said. She smiled warmly. "Thank you for your hospitality, Sanada."

"Oh, no problem," Ryo said, scratching the back of his neck.

"As for opening this gate, we'll look into it. I've contacted your friend, Nasuti, and she seems eager to get started. I'll be researching the past with her, when the gates opened for you before. It will perhaps take a week at the most—"

"A week? How can you expect us to sit a whole week while Hotaru is stuck there—"

"What did I say yesterday, kid?" Haruka said, crossing her arms. "I've got my eye on you. You're suspicious."

"Suspicious?" Ryo rolled his eyes. "I thought we were over this, Ten'ou—"

"Haruka, hush," Michiru said, giving Ryo a sidelong glance. Shin looked amused. "We can't help it if our baby likes who she likes—"

"Yes we can, I can kick his ass right here—"

Michiru dug her elbow in Haruka's side. Haruka cringed as Michiru smiled. "Thank you, we'll be on our way."

"Bye, Mouri," Setsuna managed to sneak in before the door closed. Shin cleared his throat, ignoring Ryo's smirk. They rejoined the rest of the group; Touma was saying something about Nasuti.

"I'm not sure how much she could find, but she's good at this stuff," he said as Shin sat down next to him.

"I bet Ami could help, too," Usagi said, a bit too excitedly. She wriggled her way off the couch and next to Ami, throwing her arm around her. "You love mysteries, don't you?"

"This isn't really a mystery, Usagi, it's—"

"A mystery is a mystery is a mystery," Minako said, popping up on Ami's other side. "Don't deny it. You have goosebumps just thinking of how you could solve this problem."

"Cut it out, guys," Makoto said, swatting Minako's finger out of Ami's face. "You're embarrassing her."

Shuu gave a big, open laugh at the flustered look on Ami's face. Shin joined in as he took a seat by Mamoru. "Just like our Touma," he said. Touma rolled his eyes.

"I've gotten you guys out of trouble too many times before."

"You should take some cues from Ami and be a little more modest," Shin teased, at which Touma just looked at him and bit into a cookie. "That's exactly the attitude I'm talking about."

"Ah! Ami aren't you late for cram?" Usagi asked suddenly, poking her on the side.

"You, reminding someone they're late?" Mamoru commented. Shuu started laughing at the indignant stare Usagi gave her fiancé.

"No, cram was cancelled today," Ami said smoothly, smiling slightly. Then she somehow made eye contact with Touma. The corner of his lip lifted in a slight smile and she choked on the cookie she was eating. Makoto, alarmed, started patting her back.

"You okay? Went down the wrong pipe?"

Tears in her eyes, Ami nodded. Minako, now sprawled out on the floor next to Shuu, nudged him and winked.

"Trust me," Shuu said, "he has _no_ idea at all."

"Who has no idea of what?" Touma asked.

Shuu raised his eyebrows at Minako, clearly saying, "Told you so."

x

Seiji had dismissed himself soon after Ryo escaped to the kitchen. He stepped around Michiru's, Haruka's and Setsuna's legs, making his way to the balcony. He closed the sliding door behind him and heaved a large sigh, thankful for the clear air.

It had been a pain to move all their furniture on to the ninth floor, but both he and Ryo decided that this balcony was worth it. There was a difference between the world when they were on ground floor and when they were in the air—and that was they could breathe. The view also faced away from the city, letting them stare instead at the stars. He knew that Ryo, sometimes, would sit there and think about his father, Luna, and Byakuen, who they had left with Seiji's family; Seiji himself would think about everything else.

Seiji glanced out over the lake the apartment rested by. They weren't too far from the city to avoid the noise, but they were far enough to not let the noise bother them. He closed his eyes, letting the noise fade away. Sometimes he could get into a half-meditative state out here. Lately, though, the same thoughts had been bothering him.

He didn't have the nerve to ask Setsuna outright what she was hiding. That seemed too personal; although he didn't like that she was lying, at the same time he didn't want to offend. Maybe he would mention something to Shin later.

Seiji opened his eyes when he heard the door slide open and shut. He glanced over his shoulder, surprised (and slightly warm) to see Rei. She wasn't looking at him; instead she kept her gaze straight ahead, even as she stood beside him and leaned against the railing.

He chanced a small greeting. She returned it quietly, and Seiji turned back to the lake. He wasn't an idiot. He knew she was put-off by the way his foot seemed to kick himself in the face every time he was around her. It was the oddest feeling, he thought—so completely strange from how comfortable he was around Nasuti. He had originally attributed it to the fact that she was, well, female, and he was traumatized from his own sisters—but the rest of the Sailor Senshi didn't have that effect on him.

So he figured he was attracted to her. Physically, as opposed to how he was attracted to Nasuti's aura. Rei, despite her cool disposition, was—fiery, for a lack of a better description. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more the Sailor Senshi seemed very in-tune with their powers. He tried to clear his head around her, but for some reason, it just didn't work. She drew him in, like she indubitably drew others—moth to a flame.

Shuu and Shin thought it was the funniest thing in the world. Touma didn't care, and Ryo wondered about his taste in women.

"Who's Shutendouji?"

Her words startled him. Seiji stared at her openly, his face closing off. "How do you know that name?"

Rei bit her lip. Seiji paused, noticing how tired she actually looked. She had been quiet the whole time they were conversing with Kayura. When she glanced at him, he was startled to see the struggle in her gaze. "I spoke with him last night. I was doing a fire reading and he came to me."

"Shuten is dead," Seiji said, brows furrowed in thought. Fire reading, she had said. Was that due to her powers as a Senshi, or was it because she was a priestess? And how reliable was that, actually? "Why haven't you told anyone else?"

Rei didn't answer. She continued looking at him; he held her gaze strongly. Now that he knew exactly why he was so flustered around her, he could push the feelings away. He couldn't help but notice her eyebags were more evident in the sunlight. Was it because she stayed up doing a fire reading? "He wanted me to relay you a message."

"Me? Not Ryo?"

Rei shook her head, turning away. Her grip on the railing was tight; she loosened her fingers, clasping them together as she looked out at the lake. She looked uneasy, he thought.

"Hino-san?"

"Tell Kourin no Seiji that this will be his greatest trial yet," Rei said, her voice quiet. "His spirit will have to be stronger than ever if he wishes to prevent the death of his friends. Only he is capable."

Seiji felt cold at her words. She eventually met his gaze after a moment. He wondered if she knew how troubled she looked. "Is that all?"

"For you, yes."

"Thank you."

Rei sighed, leaning forward. She bowed her head, looking down to the ground.

"Shutendouji was formerly a masho—that is, Arago had corrupted him to the side of wickedness. He realized, later, that Arago was using him for his armor, and that he belonged on the other side of the fight. Kaos—you know Kaos?" At Rei's slight nod, he continued. "Kaos gave up his life, in order for Shuten to continue his path. He was a formidable ally."

"I'm sorry," Rei said, still looking down. "May I ask what happened?"

"Kayura had also been turned to Arago's side," Seiji said slowly. He knew all about brainwashing, about fighting against his will. "A sorcerer named Badamon was controlling her. Shuten realized the only way to save her was to give up his life."

"He didn't seem like such a martyr."

Seiji shook his head. "He wouldn't consider himself one."

"He said he'd come speak with me again."

"I never really found him to be talkative."

Rei turned to him again, looking into his eyes again. A slow breeze picked up, rustling their hair and clothes and even a bit of their souls. Then she gave another sigh. "I haven't told anyone because I don't know how to," she said finally. "In fact, I was going to hide this from you."

"You don't know how to?"

The look she gave him was wry. "Sometimes I wonder if I'm just going crazy."

"Shuu already thinks you are."

Seiji didn't know why he let that slip. The incredulous look Rei was giving him almost had him apologizing before she smirked and looked away. "He would, that idiot."

They fell into a momentary silence again. Seiji watched the waves in the lake ripple slowly. It was a good decision, he thought for the billionth time since moving in, that they chose the ninth floor. Rei's words were troubling. Why would Shutendouji choose to warn _him_? He wasn't Ryo, who would make it to the end. Nor was he Touma, who would find a way to make everything work.

But maybe that was exactly why—so that Ryo would be able to make it to the end, so that Touma could find a way—so that Shuu could plow through uncertainty and Shin could put his all heart in. He had to be Kourin no Seiji, who would light the way for them.

"I know it isn't my place to say," Seiji said, drawing Rei's attention back to him. "And I do not mean to offend you. But I think if your fellow Senshi knew that you were pushing yourself to your limits, they would be upset."

"You're right," Rei said, an edge to her voice. "It isn't your place to say."

He felt as if the almost comfortable feeling they had earlier had instantly shattered. Still, he didn't regret his words.

"There are just some things they shouldn't worry about, though," Rei continued, her tone calmer. The pieces were picking back up. "And if it's only a few hours of sleep that I have to sacrifice, then I'll do it so they won't have to worry. I see things that they don't ever have to because I don't let them. Maybe I'm being selfish. I don't care. I never want to them to experience the things that I do."

When her words ended, Rei looked at him. Seiji wondered if she saw in his gaze that he understood from experience every single word.


	11. Chapter 11

**eleven**

Shuu wasn't entirely sure how it happened.

It started with the fact that Nasuti and Setsuna had no idea where to start looking. "The past battles," Setsuna had emphasized. "If we can figure out how Arago had managed to summon these large gates to the Youjakai, perhaps we can start from there."

Nasuti took the USB Setsuna handed her, plugging it in. A folder popped up with several video files. Clicking on one, she found that it was a recording of the first gate the Troopers had gone through. "How did you manage to find this?"

"Just plucked it from time," Setsuna said with a shrug. "I figure, I'm going to get punished for a lot of things at once, might as well add this to the list."

"Punished?" Nasuti furrowed her brow. "I don't quite follow—"

They both didn't realize Shuu was making a spanking gesture to Shin behind their backs. Shin narrowed his eyes dangerously, but Ryo fought hard not to laugh.

"There are rules I must follow as a guardian," Setsuna said, waving Nasuti's confusion away. "Anyway, I have already gone through and annotated energy readings and types during, before and after the gates were raised. We can start from there."

"But what can I do?"

"You have an enormous breadth of knowledge," Setsuna said kindly. "I'm sure you would be able to research ancient events dealing with the gates to the Youjakai."

A week passed. Nasuti, looking a bit guilty, informed them all that they were still at a loss of what to do. This led to Touma joining in the research, which led to Minako pressuring Ami to join (which, of course, was unnecessary, seeing as Ami would never give up the chance to solve a good puzzle). A week after that, Rei had decided to look on her own as well, in books that concerned dark magic.

"Is she a part of some occult club?" Shuu asked blankly, right in front of everyone. "Why does she know where to look for books on dark magic?"

"That is a part of being cultured, my dear Shuu," Minako said before Rei could take offense. "That, and she's probably _really_ going to look up ways on how to make you her slave forever."

Shuu and Ryo both shuddered at the memory of cleaning the Hikawa shrine.

Shin and Mamoru both ended up joining Rei. Seiji, after some thought, decided to take a leave of absence from school and return home. "Contact me immediately if something happens," he said, to which Ryo agreed.

"Of course. I'm sure you'd probably already know, though."

That left five (Haruka and Michiru didn't quite count; they had flown to another country, for a concert they absolutely couldn't cancel, having done so twice already in the past). Minako had tried helping Rei, Shin and Mamoru; despite her good intentions, however, she ended up falling asleep at the library every time. When Shin asked, Rei explained that Minako's small career as a commercial actress and tabloid magazine model was busier than one would expect.

"I'm surprised she even lasted this long," Mamoru commented after Minako finally succumbed to a nap. It had been two hours since she had arrived. He draped his green blazer across her shoulders before turning back to his book. "You're looking at volume three, Shin?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah." Shin tore his eyes away from the dreadfully exhausted Minako, focusing back on the text. Rei's eyebrows quirked up, but she said nothing.

Usagi, on the other hand, had no idea what to do. One evening, in a spur of the moment decision, she called Ryo and asked him if he wanted to take their kids out.

"Our kids?" Ryo asked.

"Yeah, you know, my brat, your brat," Usagi said cheerfully, ignoring Chibiusa, who was trying to kick her. "Besides, we could have some leader bonding!"

Ryo glanced over his shoulder, where Setsuna, Touma, and Ami were looking over something Nasuti had found. Then he shrugged. "Yeah, sure, okay."

They met up a half hour later. Jun and Chibiusa were across the street, sharing a bench and tasting each other's ice cream cones. Ryo and Usagi sat side by side, making idle talk. They were currently discussing why (or why not, in Usagi's case) the Sailor V game should (or should not) be moved from the center of Crown Arcade to the back.

"I'm telling you, kids need whack-a-mole," Ryo said. Usagi shook her head, horrified.

"Those moles are so creepy! Besides, Sailor V promotes hand-eye coordination," Usagi said, just as she flung a bit of ice cream at Ryo's face in her enthusiasm.

"Hand-eye coordination," Ryo repeated, wiping his face. "You realize whacking moles when they come out does exactly that?"

"Pfft," Usagi said stubbornly, sticking her spoon in her mouth. Ryo laughed at her expression. They fell into a comfortable silence, watching passersby scurry to their homes. It was getting late—late enough for parents to start to worry about children, but not so late that they felt hurried to gather Chibiusa and Jun.

It was after a moment that Usagi spoke again. "I wish I could do something to help."

Ryo was quiet, trying to find the right words. He was never really the eloquent one; that was more of Seiji's or Shin's role. He glanced at Usagi, who had taken to staring at her feet with a most pensive expression that didn't suit her. He had always found this whole "leader" thing obnoxious; he didn't want to lead his friends. He only wanted to help them. He wondered if it were the same for Usagi—if she, too, had almost been forced to become a leader.

"You are," he eventually said, his voice light. "You're hoping."

"That doesn't mean much," Usagi mumbled, popping the last of her ice cream in her mouth. Ryo gave a half smile.

"It means everything. You know, because everyone is so busy doing everything else that they don't really find time to be optimistic."

Usagi puckered up her lips. Then she turned to him with a gentle smile of her own. "I know you're just trying to make me feel better, but it worked. Thanks."

"I'm not just trying to make you feel better. I've learned the hard way that you need to leave room to believe in yourself." Ryo crumpled his empty ice cream cup, tossing it into the nearest trash can.

"Thank you."

For some reason, her gratitude meant a lot to Ryo.

That same evening, Shuu had decided, on a whim, that he would try to befriend the weird giant yankee girl. He told her already that he was going to pick her up when she was done with her classes; she replied that she was entirely fine, that he didn't need to waste his time. He sent her a final, "Too late, I'm already here," as he lingered around the front of Le Cordon Bleu.

The words were all in French. Shuu tilted his head, trying to pronounce some of it. No luck; it was all gibberish to him. He shrugged, zipping up his hooded sweater. Summer was supposed to roll in any time, but the spring air was still so crisp.

"Ah, Shuu!"

Shuu glanced back at the shop, grinning when he saw Makoto exit. She was buttoning up her own coat over her short dress. Why had he never noticed that she liked wearing dresses? He waved as she made her way to him.

"Sorry, were you here long? Was it hard to find?"

"Not at all," Shuu said. "One of my uncles used to teach here, a long time ago. He's—"

"No _way_," Makoto cried out, gaping. "That's incredible! All of the instructors here are just amazing, I look up to them so much, I can't believe you know someone who used to teach!"

Shuu shrugged. "I dunno, the culinary thing's a family tradition I guess. But hey! Give yourself some more credit, you're pretty good, you know."

Makoto rolled her eyes. "Enough with the flattery. Where are you taking me?"

"Anywhere you want, milday," Shuu joked, even stopping to bow and flutter his arm. Makoto gave him a dry look.

"I'm going home then."

"Aw, come on!" Shuu shoved his hands in his pockets, strolling alongside her. "Milkshake? Ramen? What are you craving?"

"What kind of girl do you think I am?" Makoto laughed. "Milkshake or ramen—I'm not Minako!"

Shuu shrugged again. "I just thought I'd come and liven up your boring day, but I guess I'm not wanted here..."

"Stop being a baby." Makoto played with one of her earrings, glancing around. "Ramen sounds fine."

"Great! I know a good stand around here—" That was all he got out before Makoto suddenly grabbed his arm and yanked him back. A crater appeared right where he had been standing. He shook his head, unable to believe it. "How many times am I going to fall for that?"

"I barely saw it myself," Makoto muttered.

People nearby started shrieking, heading for cover as chunks of pavement started to lift into the air. Shuu narrowed his eyes. "Someone trying to steal all my glory?"

"Not in public," Makoto hissed, taking his hand and rushing out of the scene. She led him in between two shops; it was a space too narrow to be called an alley, but big enough for the both of them. "Do you see where it's coming from?"

"There," Shuu said automatically, pointing at the roof of another building. "It looks—it looks like that guy, that Saphir guy—"

"What?" Makoto glared at the distant figure. "They must have done something—never mind that, let's go. Jupiter crystal power, make-up!"

"Buso, Kongo!"

The two of them didn't hesitate. They rushed out onto the street, noticing that there was only Saphir on the building. There were no youja soldiers, no youma—just Saphir, looking down on them smugly.

"Shuu, give me a lift—"

Shuu locked his hands together. Jupiter leapt onto his hands and, with his force, flew higher than she thought she would. She landed easily on the roof, but her momentum didn't stop. She swung her arms back. "Sparkling wide pressure!"

Saphir jumped out of the attack's way. Jupiter, however, had anticipated that; she met him on the side, punching him straight on the jaw. Before he could recover, she kneed him in the gut—she didn't expect him, however, to be ready with his own attack. As he keeled over, he brought his own fist, fueled with that dark energy, into her stomach.

Jupiter flew back, only to be narrowly caught by Shuu. "Careful, I'm sure the city doesn't want a Sailor Senshi splattered on the ground."

Jupiter clutched her stomach, not saying anything. That punch had _hurt_, more than she realized. She glanced down to see part of her uniform had torn from impact. "He's different. The Saphir I knew was not a fighter, he was a planner. He never would have pulled a hit like that before."

"Who cares," Shuu said with a stubborn glare. "If he wants to brawl, we can brawl. Gan tessai!"

Jupiter cringed as the roof suddenly split in half, smashing Saphir in-between two large slabs of concrete. Shuu gloated for a brief moment before Saphir blasted the two slabs apart.

"You're kidding," Shuu grumbled, swinging his tetsubo around. "Any ideas on how to beat him?"

"I think we're just going to have to smash his face in," Jupiter said. She crossed her arms, gathering a volley of lightning. "Supreme thunder!"

Bolts of lightning slapped down where Saphir stood; he managed to create some kind of barrier. Shuu took the chance to sprint forward. When the lightning disappeared, he struck out with the tetsubo. It caught Saphir unaware, sending him crashing backwards.

Saphir staggered to his knees. He was holding something in his fingers, something that looked like a tiny marble. It started glowing; to Jupiter's and Shuu's shock, a portal started forming. "That thing he has!" Jupiter called out.

"Got it," Shuu growled, rushing up and slamming his tetsubo into Saphir. Saphir dropped the marble and he crumbled to the ground. Shuu quickly grabbed the marble, noting that the portal suddenly closed.

Jupiter, not taking any chances, threw another volley of lightning at Saphir. This time it was more successful; Saphir writhed in pain until the attack faded away. He lay, for a moment, unmoving; faint strings of smoke were rising from his body.

"I think you literally fried him," Shuu said as she approached the body. Just as he spoke, the body turned into dust. The two of them stared as the wind suddenly picked up, spreading the dust throughout the air. "Gross."

"Tell me about it." Jupiter glanced at the marble Shuu clutched in his hands. "Well, I guess we have a clue on how to open portals."

"Us, solving a problem Touma can't? How in the world did that happen?" Shuu mused.

Jupiter laughed. "Either way, let's get out of here before the police arrive."

"After you," Shuu said, gesturing for Jupiter to lead the way.

x

"I'm not entirely sure how it happened," Shuu said with a modest shrug. Makoto, nursing the wound on her stomach, nodded.

"I mean, we've never seen them use it before. But I'm sure that's what he was using to open those portals."

"It's a trap," Touma said, shaking his head. He picked up the marble with one hand, pushing his glasses atop his head with the other. He paused, rubbing his thumb over the surface. "There's a marking here. Almost like it's imitating our yoroi balls."

"My supercomputer is picking up a dormant energy, much similar to the energy produced by Demand and Saphir." Ami glanced through her goggles, a frown on her lip. "I wish you had left him alive, at least, so we could find out more..."

"They wouldn't have fallen for it a second time, the kidnapping," Shin reasoned. "Was anything else out of the ordinary?"

"He physically fought," Makoto said. Minako frowned.

"That's not right. Saphir was a total wuss."

"That's what I thought."

"So it wasn't really him, then," Ami said with a sigh. "They had just wanted to draw us out, make us aware of the portal opener, perhaps tempt us to use it."

"Of course we're going to use it," Ryo said without hesitation. Shuu nodded.

"We're getting nowhere with this whole gate thing."

"We should just wait," Nasuti said placidly. She glanced around the room they were all gathered in. Immediately after their battle, Shuu and Makoto had called for a meeting. Hikawa shrine was the only place that was closest and also gave them privacy.

"Here," Touma said, tossing the marble to Ryo. Ami had a horrified look on her face, as if Ryo would completely miss catching it and the marble would shatter on the floor. She heaved a sigh of relief when Ryo nimbly caught it between two fingers.

"Oh man," Minako said. "For a second, I had a flashback to me throwing you that piggybank, Usa—"

"You mean _my_ piggybank?" Chibiusa said, giving Usagi a sharp glance. Usagi twiddled her thumbs, glancing up innocently.

"Chu," Touma said, turning their attention back to the marble. "It says 'chu' on there."

"That's—Shutendouji," Shin said, startled. "But how—"

"So it's a real yoroi ball?" Shuu shook his head. "But Ami just said it was evil, and besides, wouldn't our own yoroi balls respond to it?"

"What's the problem?" Usagi asked, peering at the yoroi ball.

"Shutendouji died, five years ago. Kayura should have his yoroi ball," Ryo explained. He held the marble up to the light. A frown crossed his face. "I don't feel anything from it."

"An imitation, maybe?" Touma suggested. "Or maybe—"

"Maybe it's corrupted," Shin finished quietly. Everyone stared at him. Ryo swallowed, feeling something bubble in the pit of his stomach. Corrupted—as they all could have been. As they all had sworn they would not be. But still, the thought that a yoroi ball could have been tainted... True, it had been Shutendouji's originally, and true, Shutendouji was dead...

"Wow," Minako said after a moment of silence. "Dramatic."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be," Shin said, smiling lightly. "I had only meant—it's probably not going to work like before."

"So that thing summoned armor?" Usagi furrowed her brow. She folded one arm across her chest as she propped her chin on her fist. "Interesting, interesting..."

"What's interesting?" Chibiusa asked. A startled look came onto Usagi's face when she realized everyone was watching.

"It's nothing," she said, waving the question away. When Makoto and Ami both looked at her with furrowed brows, she started to laugh nervously. "Really! I was just thinking, I dunno, what's the difference between a corrupt one and a regular one?"

"The difference," Minako repeated faintly. A thoughtful look coming over her. "Usa, you're absolutely right."

"What?" Ami said, staring at her friends with an utmost perplexed expression.

"I'm very confused," Shuu commented. Shin nodded his head in agreement.

"It's simple," Minako said, hitting her palm with her fist. "What's the difference between this thing—" Here, she pointed at the yoroi ball in Ryo's hand, "and your things?"

"Uh," Ryo said. "This one's evil?"

"No no," Minako said as she glanced at Usagi, who looked incredulous that someone actually followed her line of thought. "I mean, why can this one open portals while yours can't, right, Usagi?"

"Right!" Usagi nodded enthusiastically. "I was just thinking, so what if that thing is evil? It shouldn't change powers _that_ much, right?"

"The world is ending," Makoto said as Chibiusa pressed a hand to Usagi's forehead. "It has to be ending."

"Oh cut it out," Usagi said, wriggling away and sticking her tongue out at Chibiusa. "I'm a mature young woman now, I'm allowed to have an idea every once in awhile—"

"It's far-fetched," Touma mused, lacing his fingers and resting his chin on them, "but it's plausible."

"Okay, so how do we test it, then?" Shuu asked, only to be met with silence.

Ryo rolled the yoroi ball in his fingers, feeling the etching of the virtue under his skin. The more he concentrated, the more he could feel the familiarity of the yoroi ball. It was hidden, deep under a dark cloud. Maybe... "Do you think we could ask Seiji to purify it?"

"What? But what if it has to be corrupted for us to use it?" Shuu protested. Nasuti frowned.

"I'm not exactly too thrilled at falling into the enemy's trap."

"Me either, but what else are we going to do?" Shuu crossed his arms, huffing. Makoto nudged him.

"We'll find a way, duh."

"So should we call Seiji back?" Ryo inquired.

Touma and Shin both blinked, glancing at the yoroi ball. It was Ami who spoke. "Why don't you try it, Hashiba? I mean, you managed to break the dome with an arrow."

"Er," Touma said, looking abashed. It was a wonder what the expression did for him; he seemed more boyish, more charming. "I suppose I could try. It's not really my specialty, though."

"Or Usagi," Makoto suggested. At this, Usagi blinked.

"Me?"

"Yeah, you could try." Makoto shrugged. "I mean, he says it's not his thing, but I'm sure with your help..."

Usagi looked at Touma. He gave her an almost shy smile. "We could try," he said.

"Okay," Usagi said. She rummaged through her purse for a moment, digging towards the bottom. She pulled out two wallets, her communicator, several receipts from Crown Fruit Parlor, a half-eaten tart and a pack of gum before she produced a thin gold chain. On the end was a large, pyramidal crystal. "Found you!"

"Oh, my _god_, U_sa_gi," Minako said, her mouth dropping open. Ami looked like she was having a heart attack. "You just throw the Ginzuishou in your bag like that?"

"Huh," Usagi said, blinking multiple times. Shuu and Ryo both looked confused, wondering what the fuss was. "Well yeah, the chain's loose, I gotta get it repaired sometime—"

"Usagi, that's the _Ginzuishou_," Makoto said, rubbing her temple. "You need to take care of it."

"I do," Usagi protested. She looked a bit flustered. "I mean, I used to wear it like this and you guys didn't care before—"

"What happened to keeping it in your brooch?" Ami asked, her voice faint. She was checking her own pulse, trying not to lose her nerves. "It's much safer that way, it's not out in the open—"

"I just," Usagi said quietly. Then she shrugged. "I just thought if someone tried to take it, I could probably get it back anyway."

The other Senshi fell silent. Makoto looked guilty for a moment as she looked down at her knees. Ami sighed, running a hand through her hair, but it was Minako who looked surprised. Nasuti raised her eyebrows. "Is there something we should know?"

"Oh no," Minako said casually. She put on a bright smile, slapping her on the knee. "Let's get to purifying, shall we?"

So minutes later, Touma found himself aiming a glowing arrow at Shutendouji's old yoroi ball as Usagi lingered by, the crystal clutched in her hands. "Ready?" she asked, giving Touma an encouraging smile.

"Sure," Touma said.

He let the arrow fly, just as the crystal started to glow. The arrow pierced right through the yoroi ball—disappeared into it. The yoroi ball started to glimmer, looking like the sun behind cracked glass. He held his breath as the crystal in Usagi's hand floated.

There was an odd feeling that overcame him. It was the same feeling from the recital, Touma thought as he lifted his eyes to meet Usagi's—only this time it was definite. Before, he had theorized that her presence was similar to Kaos. Now—now, he was absolutely sure. The power radiating from the crystal was more than enough proof.

"Woah," Shuu breathed, his eyes widening. Usagi furrowed her brow, trying to direct the energy to the yoroi ball. A small beam of silvery light shot from the crystal to the yoroi ball; it, too, disappeared, joining Touma's arrow.

Usagi slumped back, watching tentatively as the yoroi ball continued to burn with the energy inside of it. Beside her, Minako bit her lip. "Is it working?"

"It seems to be," Ami muttered, reading the energy signals from her Mercury computer. Just as she spoke, the yoroi ball emitted a bright light flashed throughout the room. It sat still when the light subsided; Ami quickly nodded, confirming the results. "No traces of the dormant energy. It worked."

"Whew!" Usagi said, wiping her brow in an exaggerated manner. Shin grinned at her.

"That was great," he said. She giggled, hiding her mouth behind her hand.

"Aw, shucks, it was nothin', Shin," she sang. Chibiusa gave her a suspicious look.

"What's wrong with your face, Usagi?"

"Nothing's wrong with my face," Usagi growled, sticking her face close to Chibiusa's.

"You sure? 'cause I think I just caught you trying to _flirt_ when you're _engaged_—"

"Shut up!"

Everyone ignored them as Usagi and Chibiusa began wrestling on the floor. Ami had the yoroi ball between two fingers, holding it up to the light. It seemed to sparkle, she thought. "How strong are these?"

"Strong enough?" Ryo seemed confused. "I mean, I've dropped mine a few times but it was fine, no scratches, nothing."

"Interesting," Ami murmured. "I just wonder—the energy readings from Hashiba's arrow and the Ginzuishou were so remarkably similar..."

"Ugh," Minako said, collapsing over Makoto's shoulder. Makoto lurched forward at the sudden weight. "None of this makes any sense. Where's Rei, is she done fire reading yet?"

The screen door opened. Rei, garbed in her proper miko attire, gave Minako a dry look. "Sorry, were you waiting on me?"

Minako winked, but before she could say anything, Ami spoke. "Anything, Rei?"

Rei took her seat next to Shuu, pulling her hair out of its tie. "Lots, actually. I had a conversation with Shutendouji."

"Um," Shuu said, staring at Rei oddly. He had become accustomed to giving her that look. "I'm not sure if you realize, but Shutendouji's sort of dead."

"Thank you for that brilliant piece of information," Rei said, flatly. Shuu wrinkled his nose. "I know he's dead. He sought me out."

"What did he say?"

Rei glanced at Ryo, who was staring at her with such intensity. She let out a slow breath. "A lot. He said a lot. The most important thing is that there was a breach in security in the Spirit World. A few spirits escaped."

"What's Spirit World?" Minako asked.

"It's—well, exactly that. Spirit World, where spirits go for judgment after they die." Rei seemed faintly surprised. "I haven't mentioned this before?"

"Nope," Usagi said cheerily. Rei scratched her head, glancing at Ami for confirmation. Ami nodded.

"This is the first you've spoken about it."

"Oh. Well, now you know, I guess." She shrugged, a solemn look returning to her face. "Shuten said the security breach has been detained, and they've managed to confirm that the escaped spirits were Demand, Saphir, Rubeus and Esmeraude."

"This is beyond my mind right now," Shuu commented as Touma pressed for more answers.

"Is he implying that these attacks will stop? But what about Kayura's theory of Elysion?"

"Well," Rei said, but then her eyes caught sight of Shutendouji's yoroi ball. "What happened when I was away?"

"Oh, you know, a corrupted yoroi ball just got purified, that's all," Shuu said flippantly. He laughed at her eye roll. "What were you going to say?"

"That name you mentioned earlier, a few weeks ago. Badamon. It seems Shutendouji agrees that he also escaped."

None of the Troopers hid their reaction. Makoto glanced at each of them, almost surprised at the array of expressions. Ryo seemed conflicted, Shuu upset, Touma astonished—but the biggest surprise was Shin. He was angry. His hands were clenched into his fists as his eyes glared sharply at the yoroi ball.

"I've got a meeting with him tomorrow night," Rei finished as she also studied each young man. "He believes that he can strike a deal with the ruler of the Spirit World and come back, but only to help defeat our enemy, if it is Badamon. He's going to let me know then."

"Sounds like you've got a date with a ghost. Is he hot?" Minako teased. Rei rolled her eyes, not even bothering to answer.

"This can't be real," Ryo sighed, closing his eyes. "The thought of Badamon being alive..."

"At least it's not Arago," Shuu muttered. "But Badamon gave me the creeps, even more than Hino does—ow!"

"Are you okay?" Makoto asked as Shuu grabbed his side. He was staring at Rei incredulously.

"Did you just _pinch_ me?"

"My hand must have slipped," Rei said casually. "Anyway, it might not hurt to put off research until I speak with him again. Depending on how it goes, he mentioned he could open the portal for us."

"Right," Touma said, nodding enthusiastically. "He sent me and Ryo there last time; he could easily do it again."

Shin ran a hand through his hair. The angry look disappeared, leaving him seeming weary. "I just hope Shuten is wrong. If Badamon is back, that would explain why your own previous enemies weren't acting like they should—he was very powerful, had control of very dark magic. He would have easily been able corrupt the yoroi ball."

"Yeah, well," Shuu said. "If it is true, then we can just beat him again."

"Hopefully," Touma grumbled. "Nasuti, you should be looking relieved. You've been working non-stop for the past two weeks."

Nasuti seemed startled. She smiled nervously. "I'm sorry, I only... It's just all the talk about Shuten..."

Makoto leaned back, eyebrows lowered. She had picked up that this Shutendouji character had been important to the Troopers. She must have overlooked Nasuti's position in everything that had happened five years ago. And, come to think of it, Chibiusa's boyfriend, too... Normal civilians, caught up in things that were too strong for them. But according to Shin, Nasuti had been an invaluable asset. Heck, she was even proving that now, the way she relentlessly worked. Her ethic nearly rivaled Ami's.

"It's getting late," Usagi said suddenly. She had her arm around Chibiusa's neck; Chibiusa, for once, didn't seem to mind. "We should be getting home."

"Ugh, me too," Minako said. "I'll walk with you until I hit the train stop."

"Should we plan to meet tomorrow?" Ami asked hesitantly as she put away her super computer. "I mean, if we're going to—relax..."

Ryo smiled at the way she said the word. It was as if it were a foreign concept to her. "You can do whatever you want, Mizuno. It'll be your free time."

"Oh," Ami said. She looked curious before she gave a small smile. "I could go to the pool, then. I haven't been there in awhile—"

"Great idea!" Minako said, flashing her an exuberant thumbs-up. "Say, Hashiba, you like swimming too?"

"Er," Touma said blankly. "Well, Shin—"

"Rats," Minako said with a snap of her fingers, not bothering to let him finish. Shin blinked a few times. Ami looked terribly confused. "Some other time then."

"Huh?" Usagi said dumbly. "You make no sense sometimes, Minako—"

"I'll tell you on your walk," Minako said. She looped her arm through Chibiusa's and Usagi's, pulling them out the door. Chibiusa managed to squeak out a farewell before Usagi slid the screen door shut. Ami, realizing what Minako was up to, turned bright red and ran after them without any kind of farewell.

"Well, I guess I should go, too," Makoto mumbled as she stood.

"You could've told them to wait," Ryo said. Makoto shook her head.

"I live the opposite way." She picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder. "Um, I guess I'll see you guys next time?"

"Bye," Shin offered as Rei merely smiled at her.

"Let me walk you back," Shuu said suddenly, springing up. He grabbed his coat off the floor, quickly shrugging it on. Makoto rolled her eyes.

"I already told you, you don't need to waste your time—"

"Do you think that maybe I enjoy your company, yankee girl?"

"What did you call me?" A confliction of emotions fluttered through Makoto (yankee girl, right, that was most certainly offensive, but he enjoyed her company, was it?) as she punched him on the arm. Shuu let out a yelp, rubbing his arm.

"Ow, what is with you girls? Jeez," he grumbled, but there was a smirk on his face.

"That was your own fault!"

"Come on, let's hurry you back home before all the ramen stands close—"

"I can make ramen at home, Shuu," Makoto said, still trying to flush out the weird feelings inside her.

"But _I_ can't," Shuu said. He looked over his shoulder, winking at Shin. Of course he could make ramen. In fact, he had taught Shin how to properly make noodles that were both crispy and soft at the same time.

"You're so weird," Makoto said, making towards the door. "Who doesn't know how to make _ramen_—"

The two of them disappeared out the door. Nasuti blinked a few times before she managed to say, "Does Shuu have a crush on Kino?"

"Funny, I thought he had a thing for Usagi," Touma said.

"Usagi's practically married," Ryo pointed out.

"Maybe he just wants to be friends?" Shin suggested. Ryo gave him a dry look.

"He had on his Flirting Look. He's into her."

"Huh," Shin said, looking thoughtfully at the ceiling. "I never would have thought."

"Men," Rei inputted, shaking her head. "So fickle."

The Troopers and Nasuti all jumped, having forgotten she was there. Then Ryo held up a finger. "You realize we're guys, right?"

Rei looked at him, as if to say, "My point exactly."

"Is there anything we can help you with, Hino-san?" Nasuti gave her a gentle smile. "I mean, for letting us use the temple at such short notice..."

"It's fine," Rei said. She found herself liking Nasuti the more she talked to her. The older woman was easily approachable, but also sensible. "If you wanted, actually, you all can stay here for tonight. I know it's a long trip back to where you all live."

"We couldn't intrude any more than we already have," Shin said cautiously. He didn't want to seem impolite. Truthfully, staying the night at the shrine would have been a good choice. But out of all the Senshi, Rei was the most—guarded? He couldn't quite put a finger on it. So for her to have offered...

"There are a few extra bedrooms," Rei said with a shrug.

"That's a very kind offer," Nasuti said, absolutely tempted. "If you honestly don't mind..."

"I'll go prepare the rooms," Rei said. She stood up, brushing off her robes before she disappeared out the door. Ryo let out the breath he was holding.

"I never," he said, "ever would have expected that to happen."

"Me either," Touma agreed. He didn't seem as bothered, though. In fact, he seemed excited. "This is great, I can get in a few extra hours of sleep now that I don't have to travel."

"You are such a bum," Shin said, shoving his shoulder. Touma grinned as he shoved him back.

"Hey, don't get too touchy, Shin, Seiji's gonna get jealous," Ryo quipped. Nasuti shook her head as she laughed, hitting Ryo playfully on the back. The four of them took a moment in which they laughed (like the old times, before the world somehow became their responsibility again) before Nasuti stood up.

"I'm going to see if she needs help."

Once she left the room, Touma dropped his gaze to the floor. "Earlier, when she mentioned Shuten—"

"I can't imagine what she's thinking. If he comes back," Shin mused quietly. "I don't exactly know what went on, when we were captured and you two came to save us—but it's obvious she really cared about him."

"Then it's a good thing she's going to see him," Ryo mumbled. Touma and Shin exchanged a glance at the expression on Ryo's face. It wasn't unfamiliar to them—but they hadn't seen it for awhile. It wasn't quite anguish, nor was it quite despair. It was like a calm sort of anger—a calm sort of hurt.

"Ryo," Shin started hesitantly. "Are you... thinking about Luna?"

Ryo blinked a few times. And then he smiled slightly. "Sorry, was it too obvious?"

"Kind of," Touma said. He furrowed his brow. "You know it wasn't your fault."

"Yeah," Ryo said faintly. He sighed, stretching. "I know. I just think sometimes, you know."

"Nothing wrong with thinking," Touma said. Ryo grinned as he stood up.

"I'm gonna go and help Nasuti. Hino's probably making her scrub the bath or something."

"Good luck," Shin called out. The two remaining were quiet after the screen door closed. Then Shin said, "He's still blaming himself."

"Even I figured that," Touma said wryly.

"This is just one of the times I wish Seiji were here."

Touma couldn't help but agree.

* * *

**an **and that marks the end of part i! whew, was that a lot to take in, or was that a lot to take in? ^^; hahaha i did put in a reference to yu yu hakusho with the spirit world, i just couldn't help it. this chapter was another odd one for me to write... i _think_ i like where it ended up. i've come to the conclusion, though, that shuu is my absolute favorite to write haha -.- he is such a dope.

anyway, thank you for reading and even more for reviewing! i hope you enjoyed!


	12. interlude: hotaru and the masho

**an **double update! but this is a fake one. go back to chapter 11 if you missed it! ;x

so yes, this is a completely fake update. haha! i consider this more of an interlude, an aside more than an actual part of the fic. basically, i just wanted to write a shoujo-manga-esque type of situation where kayura and the masho just somehow all fall in love with hotaru (lol, yeah, i know, but the idea was just _bugging_ me and i couldn't not write it -.-)

there _are_ a few plot points in here, but they'll be address in-depth later. with that said, it's completely your choice or not whether or not to read. although if you do, you'll get a full-on blast on how i intend to write the masho. ;x again, it's up to you. skip if you must, but enjoy if you will!

* * *

**01**

Hotaru tumbled ungracefully onto the ground on the other side, feeling dirt and dust kick up into her mouth. To her left was armored feet. To her right was a fallen armored man, with the sickle and chain still in his chest. "Ugh," she said, spitting out a mouthful of rocks.

Before she could dwell on the thought of her ripped tights, the wind whistled against her back. In the quickest move she had ever made in her entire three lives, Hotaru grabbed the chain, maneuvered onto her back and stretched it in front of her. The sword that would have sliced her head off her neck was stopped short, but it was still descending. She gritted her teeth, pulled her leg back (she felt her tights rip even more and grimaced, knowing Michiru would have scolded her—as if the torn uniform wasn't bad enough) and shoved her foot against the chain and sword.

The armored man attacking her fell back. Hotaru flew up, wrenching his own sword from his hands and shoving it down into his neck. Black smoke rose from him. To think, if she had hesitated even a second, she would have been dead.

There were youja soldiers everywhere, crowded around. She couldn't see who they were fighting, not from her position on the ground, but she wasn't willing to risk being noticed in order to satiate her curiosity. Hotaru bit her lip, shimmying off the armor and onto the ground. Maybe if she stood up slowly...

She jumped back, avoiding a sickle that nearly cut off her foot. The youja soldiers had spotted her and were now surrounding her. Great. Hotaru stuck her hand in the pocket of her skirt, getting to her feet. Her henshin pen was there (good thing, because she was sure she had lost it doing laundry—it was only by a stroke of a luck did she pick that jacket to wear to school... although Setsuna _had_ suggested she wear it, saying it matched her boots—that darn time guardian), but she still hesitated to transform. Either way, she was too busy dodging swords that were aimed for her throat.

"Ja ga ken!"

Hotaru slipped on a piece of armor. As she took in a deep breath of air on her way down, she found herself choking. Great. Around her, the youja soldiers were falling; through the purple haze that started spreading, she could barely make out a figure—something sharp swinging in the air—

Her eyes were stinging and her insides were twisting. Hotaru clutched at her chest with one hand, trying to heal herself as she crawled through the falling youja soldiers. Somehow, it was working; the tight bind her body was in started to relax. For a moment she was still, mentally taking back all the times her past life had ever wished she could never heal. Then again, her past life didn't think she would ever be caught in poisonous smog.

Hotaru brought herself back to reality. She threw her hands down and scraped at the earth, weaving away from the moans of the falling youja soldiers. The farther away from the haze, the easier it was to breathe. She swallowed, almost at the edge of a cliff, emerging finally from the poisonous cloud. She sat up slowly, staring at her legs.

"You were my favorite pair," she said forlornly, picking at the rips in her tights.

Eventually she turned her eyes upwards. All thoughts of a nagging mother were suddenly cast away from her mind as she stood up. With a single glance, she knew exactly where she was. There was a glittering ocean in front of her, with lotus flowers littering the surface. And there, barely in the distance, was a familiar palace.

"Elysion…"

In the next three seconds, Hotaru wondered why she ever spoke. The moment the words left her mouth, a sword popped right under her throat and a gritty voice told her that she wasn't as smart as she thought she was. "You're on the wrong side, girl, if you think that's where you are."

The sword was immediately ignored as Hotaru turned to gape at the man in the armor. She couldn't see his face, but she knew he was the one that had spread that haze. It was the same voice. "The other side?"

"D—don't you see when you're being threatened?" the man asked, bringing his sword back up.

"Never mind that," Hotaru said, shoving his arm away. She ignored his indignant shriek as she turned back to the ocean, eyes wide. Her feet quickly brought her to the edge of the cliff. She shielded her gaze from the bright sun, shaking her head in disbelief. Pluto had told her, a long time ago, what lurked under the lake of Elysion. It was like the back of her hand versus her palm—Elysion being the palm, and the back of her hand being this world. Suddenly that palace didn't seem so familiar to her.

"You can't even threaten a little girl," a second voice was saying, taunting the first man.

"I'll kill you," the first man said to the second.

"I'd like to see you try," the second man replied. His tone of voice implied that he did not think it was possible for the first man to do so.

"Children," a third voice grumbled.

"Aw _man_," Hotaru said suddenly, stomping her foot. Touma's words flashed through her mind about what was on the other side of the portal. "I'm in the Youjakai!"

Silence followed her outburst. Then, from the first man—

"I'll kill her after I kill you."

"Shut up—"

"_Children_," the third man repeated. Again no one paid him any attention.

Hotaru's shoulders slumped in defeat. In her (slightly) panicked state, the only thing she could remember about the Youjakai was all from Haruka during dinner one night. "They're all ugly," she could remember her foster papa saying, "especially the girls. And they all have red, beady little eyes that want to suck out your soul."

Setsuna had quickly shoved Haruka's face onto the floor as Michiru calmly laid out supper. "Now, now, Haruka, don't be spreading rumors—"

"Get your foot off me you bleeping bleep of a bleep!"

"—it isn't very becoming," Setsuna finished serenely, although the glint in her eye meant, "Shut up or I'll bleeping stab you with my heel."

"Why are you so defensive?" Hotaru had asked naively. Michiru smiled at the question.

"You don't know your parents very well, do you, Hotaru?"

Hotaru wondered if she should point out that her "parents" were not that much older than her, and that she considered them her (very overprotective) friends. Instead she blinked.

"Setsuna here is well-known in the Youjakai."

"For her beady little eyes!" Haruka piped up from the floor. Setsuna kicked her in the gut and sat back down primly, folding her napkin over her lap.

"My, Michiru, this dinner looks wonderful!"

"Hag," Haruka grunted weakly. It was later that night that Setsuna revealed her other job—well, her other _other_ job, apart from being the time guardian.

Hotaru was jolted to the present by the first man grabbing her by the neck. He brought his face eerily close to hers. "Hey, are you listening?!"

She took one look at his beady eyes and paled. Oh _god_, she thought. Haruka was right! A shiver ran down her spine as the man grinned. "Please don't suck out my soul," Hotaru said in her sweetest, good-girl voice (also known as the voice she constantly used on Haruka, being that Haruka was the only one who fell for it—Michiru would just wonder what happened to her tough little daughter and Setsuna would have None Of That).

"What the hell—"

Apparently using that voice was the wrong thing to do. The man squeezed, choking her; she flailed a bit, feeling her throat close. Why did this stuff happen to her? All she wanted to do was save Tokyo from an ultimate doom. Hotaru clenched her eyes shut, grabbing forward blindly with her hands. She managed to grab a hold of his helmet and wrenched it off.

"Good move," the third man said.

Except now, instead of being choked, Hotaru found herself on the ground with a sword pointed at her nose. She went cross-eyed, staring at it. "You think you can touch this armor and get away with it?"

"You shouldn't threaten me," Hotaru said, although her mind was screaming, "Will you please just stop talking, Tomoe Hotaru?"

"I shouldn't threaten you?" If he had eyebrows, Hotaru was sure he would raise them. "Aren't you full of humor—"

"I don't find this situation very funny at all, and I'm sure the guardian of this realm would agree with me."

There went her dumb mouth again. The man with the poisonous aura _stared_ at her with utter hatred. Behind him, the other two men were suddenly looking at her with new regard. Hotaru caught her breath, trying to steel her gaze. If there was any time for Saturn to come out, it would have been—_now_, Hotaru willed, to no avail. The senshi side of her lay dormant, sleeping peacefully. _Thanks,_ _way to forsake me, henshin pen_.

"What do you mean by that, child?"

"Don't tell me you believe her, Rajura—"

In his frustration, the first man's arm twitched angrily. Hotaru watched in slow motion as the sword headed her way. Duck, she thought. Stand, her body reacted. And so the sword sliced right through her already worn tights, biting skin and cutting through her flesh so easily. Well, there went her ability to stand.

The first man stared down at what he did, unsure of what to do or say. "Funny," Hotaru growled as she pressed her hands to her thigh, one eye squinted shut in pain. "I bet you would've looked so happy just a minute ago."

"You're dead," the first man said flatly. He watched as she gritted her teeth. "My poison—"

Hotaru cut him off as her hands started to glow and the wound started to close. She had felt the poison start to spread through her blood before her own powers had disintegrated every last drop. Maybe she was overdoing it, too, because the second she pulled her hands away, she felt herself fall forward.

She was making a habit of eating rocks. Setsuna would be _so_ embarrassed.

"What did that bitch just _do_?!" the first man shrieked. That was the last thing she heard before everything went black.

"Just great," Hotaru mumbled, and then all her senses faded away.

**02**

They brought her back to the palace.

Naaza was adamant that he was going to be the one to kill her for somehow escaping death by his poison twice, and if they left her just lying around Youjakai dirt then soldiers were going to be her end, not him, and so he ordered Anubis to pick her up and let her ride with him on their way back.

Anubis just raised his eyebrows. Naaza took that to mean, "Make me," and so for three whole minutes the two of them wrestled around on the ground. Rajura watched, bored.

Then, after Anubis had successfully smashed Naaza's face into the ground, Rajura picked the girl up and slung her on his horse. No one in their right mind would invoke the guardian of the Youjakai so casually, and yet this girl threw it around like an idle threat. What was more, she was a mortal. From the human world, judging from her clothes and accent.

Halfway through their journey back, she stirred. "Setsuna hates you," she murmured, still asleep.

Rajura raised his eyebrows but said nothing.

"Eat," the girl said. Rajura briefly wondered if they should have left her. She was getting on his nerves.

When they arrived at the palace, Rajura told Anubis to carry her. Anubis looked like he wanted to argue; however, taking down Rajura was an entirely different task than taking down Naaza. So Anubis grabbed her off the horse, slung her recklessly over his shoulder and stormed into the palace gates.

Kayura had been in the middle of a lonesome dinner when Anubis dropped the girl at her feet. "Here, a present from the north."

"What in the world?" Kayura turned her troubled gaze to Rajura. "Who is she?"

"No clue. From the human world," Anubis answered. "Naaza almost killed her until she healed herself."

"She healed herself?" Kayura tilted her head, watching the girl sleep. "But she seems pretty normal to me. Why did you bring her here?"

They stared at Kayura. Anubis didn't know, Rajura didn't know but would not admit it, and Naaza thought he knew but really didn't.

"Well," Kayura eventually said at their silence, "at least she's cute."

"Uh," Naaza said, wondering how lonely Kayura was. Thankfully they were spared from responding when the girl shot up, looking incredibly panicked.

"Who are you?" she asked, recognizing Kayura as an important figure. It had to be the headdress.

"I am Empress Kayura, of the Youjakai. Welcome."

"M—michiru?" the girl said, squinting her eyes at Kayura.

"She said Kayura, you dimwit," Naaza said. The girl whirled around to face him as Kayura laughed prettily.

"Now now, don't be so rude. She is our guest, is she not?"

"I am?"

"Of course you are. You are a child from the sky, correct?"

Rajura, Anubis and Naaza looked at Kayura as if she had just shoved her own fist in her mouth (that is—with slight fascination, but more concern for her well-being). The girl blinked slowly. "How do you..."

"Your spirit is marked by Elysion," Kayura said, smiling gently, motioning to the girl's forehead. "Although the symbol on your forehead indicates you are not of Elysion. I only conclude that you are a sky child."

Rajura, despite himself, walked around the two until he could see clearly. There, on the girl's forehead, was a symbol—one that hadn't been there earlier. His brain recognized that symbol, but his mind did not. All he could think of was rei, chi, jin—the virtues of those stupid Troopers and his own, nin.

"I might be unfamiliar with where your symbol is from," Kayura added. The girl was going cross-eyed trying to look at her own forehead. Rajura wondered how dumb she really was.

"Uranus," the girl eventually said. "From Uranus. And my name is Tomoe Hotaru."

"Tomoe?" Anubis also walked around Kayura to get a look at her face. He seemed faintly alarmed. "That clan was destroyed long ago."

He had expected to receive the blankest of stares. Instead he got thoughtful eyes and a puckered up lip. "If you mean the clan Tomoe Gozen belonged to—the kanji is different from mine, but I suspect that it was changed after the war. I did find some records in my—a few years ago. My grandfather was the last one to use the same characters as hers."

"Tomoe Gozen," Naaza repeated, frowning. "She was the first."

He meant the first opposition against Arago. Kayura was too young to remember. Anubis, however, did not have the same problem. He had, after all, been the one to stab Tomoe Gozen in the neck. He had been the one to catch her blood in his hands, throw her body onto the dirt. Anubis had been the one to watch her die lightly—a true warrior's death, with the grace of a woman.

Rajura and Naaza (and Shuten Douji) had only witnessed from the other side of the battlefield.

"Please, do not let us alarm you," Kayura said, almost too eagerly as she took Hotaru's hands in hers. "I can show you where you're staying later, and then you can explain to me why you're here."

Hotaru nodded. "Thank you."

But for the briefest of moments, Rajura saw. While Kayura called the servants to fetch more helpings of dinner ("For my Masho and my guest!"), the three of them made their way out of the room to properly change. Naaza quickly parted from them, his own room being on another floor. Anubis did not spare a second glance back, but Rajura gave Hotaru one last fleeting look.

Tomoe Gozen stared back at him with cold eyes. He blinked, and the vision was gone.

**03**

"Perhaps you should tell me why you're lying."

Her voice was gentle, but her eyes were not kind. Hotaru smiled thinly, lowering her gaze. "I see you're empress for a reason."

"Of course," Kayura said in the same tone. She reached forward, grabbing her cup off the counter. She had dismissed her men long ago; it was only her and Hotaru sharing the vast dining room. "Who are you, really?"

Hotaru kept her eyes trained on the table. For a moment she debated telling another lie (really, people had told her the only difference between her and Rei was attitude), but she knew Kayura deserved better. "Tomoe Hotaru, from Saturn."

"And why did you lie?"

Kayura didn't have to ask. She watched as Hotaru let out a small sigh. "Empress, you know enough about the Elysion and the sky to understand."

A soldier from Saturn meant destruction. Kayura nodded, taking a sip of her tea. When she set her cup down, Hotaru finally glanced up. "What is it that you seek in the Youjakai?"

She was sharp, Hotaru thought. "Answers. It was a complete accident that this happened, but we—myself and the other three guardians—already decided that we would come here eventually."

"An accident?" Kayura leaned forward, her lips pursed. "How so?"

"There was a hole," Hotaru said dryly. She thought back to the feeling; she had been pulled in, against her will. It worked out in their favor, she supposed. They had only planned to sneak into the Youjakai sometime later and gather information before leaving, returning back to their own world to finish the battle there. The Guardian Senshi, of course, were in the dark about this. It would hurt them, Michiru had said, especially considering Usagi's new code.

Especially when they had said they would abandon their old way of doing things...

"I can only answer what I know," Kayura said eventually. Hotaru nodded, straightening her posture.

"I fell into the middle of a battlefield. Are you at war?"

"In a way," Kayura said slowly. She closed her eyes, appearing to mull over her answer. "There have been patches of dark magic appearing. We don't entirely know the source of it."

"And you don't suspect me?"

Kayura opened her eyes. "You are marked by Elysion. No one would be foolish enough to lie about that, nor would anyone be able to replicate the symbol you had shown us earlier."

Hotaru fell quiet. A thought occurred to her. "Elysion," she repeated. Kayura suddenly looked withdrawn. "You suspect Elysion?"

"It is only a theory," Kayura said hurriedly. "In my short time as empress, I have not had to deal with Elysion. Despite being mirror worlds, the Youjakai and that land are separate. But youja soldiers are being possessed by something—something that does not exist in this land, or I would have felt it. It would be easy to travel from Elysion to here, but it is difficult to travel from Elysion to the human world."

Hotaru took in a deep breath of air. "So you think whoever is behind everything—is using the Youjakai as a ladder into the human world. You think they're working from Elysion."

"I'm not sure what is happening in the human world," Kayura said, cupping her hands around her teacup. "But I've felt uneasy for the past month. And now you drop in on us like this."

Kayura had on a small smile. Hotaru scratched the back of her neck, averting her gaze. "Some other time," she mumbled, feeling oddly humbled, "would you mind showing me where these patches of dark magic have appeared?"

"I will ask Rajura," Kayura said, still smiling. "He might be hesitant. He doesn't really enjoy company."

"Oh."

"In fact, none of them do." A sour look came on Kayura's face. "Anubis would rather drink all day and Naaza shuts himself in his room."

Hotaru assumed that Rajura, Anubis and Naaza were the nutcases that had brought her to the palace. She wondered which one was the guy who sliced her leg open. Not that she blamed him; she would have done the same thing. "I'm sure you want to know some things about m—"

"Yes!" Kayura exclaimed, sitting up straight. Her eyes seemed to sparkle. Hotaru stared. "First, how old are you? And what is your favorite food? Oh, and may I see the glaive?"

"Um, sure," Hotaru said, holding out her arm. The familiar cold pole arm appeared in her hands. Kayura clapped enthusiastically.

"It's fantastic!" she admired. "And so, the other questions?"

"Seventeen," Hotaru said feebly. "And soba."

"We're the same age," Kayura said. She sipped at her tea before sighing happily. "That's fantastic. I'm sorry if I'm taking too much of your time. Do you mind if I ask about your powers?"

It was then Hotaru realized that the empress of the Youjakai was probably lonely. She scratched her elbow. "That's fine with me, Empress."

"Kayura, call me Kayura."

"Thank you," Hotaru said. The warm smile on Kayura's face easily said, "You're very welcome."

**04**

Hotaru peeked over Kayura's shoulder and into the large, standing mirror. Although they couldn't see her, she felt a slight relief at the fact that they looked well. She had been worried that Haruka would lose sleep over the fact that she was in a world alone. Behind her parents, she could make out a few of the troopers. They were exchanging farewells before the mirror slowly faded the images of her parents away. Hotaru stood for a moment, staring at the mirror.

Then she whirled around, smiling. "Really, thanks, Kayura."

"Don't worry about it." Kayura stretched her arms, the headdress jingling as she reached for the ceiling. "I've never really used that mirror like that before."

At this, Hotaru's gaze became inquisitive. "I was wondering about that. How exactly does it work?"

Kayura was hesitant to answer. She enjoyed Hotaru's company for the past few days, but she wondered if maybe Hotaru only stuck around for her knowledge. "From what I know, it has a direct link to the soldier of Neptune's Deep Aqua Mirror. There are two other objects as well. I believe they were made by the kingdom of Pluto to reflect the three talismans of the soldiers."

Hotaru was silent. Kayura glanced at her, sighing.

"The Swords of Fervor were meant to be a companion to the Space Sword, and the Jewel of Life was for the Garnet Orb. It was originally thought that the Kikoutei armor was the companion to Neptune's mirror. The Kikoutei was recently destroyed, however—and of course, the talismans and our replicas are indestructible. I had only assumed that Neptune's counterpart was lost, until Rajura found this mirror in one of the unused rooms. As far as I am aware, the Jewel of Life is the only thing still intact. The Swords of Fervor were destroyed alongside the Kikoutei."

"Oh," Hotaru said. She scratched the back of her neck, glancing back at the large, standing mirror. It was large, trimmed in gold and encrusted with glittering diamonds. "It looks like a wedding gift."

Hotaru didn't expect Kayura to start giggling. She joined in hesitantly, wondering what the joke was.

"You really are a strange girl," Kayura said.

"Not the first time I heard that." Hotaru sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Anyway, what are you up to now?"

Kayura stared. "What am I up to?"

"Sorry, I meant—if you weren't busy—" Hotaru was suddenly embarrassed. "You probably are, you're an empress, I imagine there's a lot you have to do—"

"Nonsense," Kayura protested, taking her hand eagerly. "Come, I promised I would take you to Rajura. We can pester him together."

And, just like that, Kayura thought she had a friend.

**05**

Rajura made it no secret that he thought she was stupid.

The first time Kayura had made him babysit Hotaru, he had tried explaining the geography of the Youjakai. He had pointed out the exact locations of the battles. They were fairly straight-forward; it seemed as if the enemy was spreading out. The first attack had been closest to the castle; the attacks following were continually drawing farther away. "They want to draw us out," Rajura said, seeing her confused stare. "That way, the city will be left unmanned for them to attack."

"Oh," Hotaru had said.

The second time, he didn't bother talking to her until she asked him a question.

"Are there any maps of Elysion?"

"You should know that Elysion's barrier is too strong for anyone to travel to," Rajura said, giving her a pointed look.

"Oh," Hotaru said. Rajura wondered if that was her favorite word. If so, he was really starting to regret bringing her back to the palace.

The both of them fell silent. Rajura continued looking at the maps and the books on his desk. Hotaru stared off into space, thinking quietly. It was obvious she missed her home. Kayura had mentioned off-hand that more of her kind was planning to drop in. If it weren't for the fact that the guardian of the realm were coming with, he would have protested.

On the third day, Hotaru asked to see the maps marked with battle. Rajura reluctantly unfurled the map, spreading it across the table. He watched as her fingers quickly pinpointed the locations. Then she asked, almost shyly, "Rajura, do you look at the stars often?"

"Not often," Rajura said, which was a complete lie. He looked at the stars every chance he got. He just hoped she would stop talking.

"It's interesting," Hotaru said. "The stars here are so different from the human world. They feel odd."

She glanced at him, and he nodded. "Go on."

Hotaru held out her hands. Rajura couldn't say he was shocked when the space of air above her palms suddenly gleamed black; he had expected that she, as a guardian, had some kind of power. He watched as tiny bright lights appeared in the dark space. It was a replica, he realized, of the solar system.

"I'm not very good at this," Hotaru admitted. "Strategizing, coming up with plans. I take after my papa, and she's kind of reckless. This area is more of Michiru-mama's thing. But I couldn't help but notice, after I was thinking about home..."

Rajura watched as the miniature solar system whirred around before coming to a stop. His eyebrows shot up. "That's it," he said, turning to the map.

The position of the planets in the solar system corresponded exactly with the locations of battle on the map.

**06**

They had split up into three different routes. Rajura would attack from the West, Anubis straight on from the South, and Naaza from the East. There would be no army to accompany them; that would only insult their pride. The plan was fool-proof—until Kayura recommended that Hotaru, since she had discovered the enemy's battle tactic, to go with Naaza.

"No," Naaza said with a scowl. Anubis tried hiding his smirk, but Rajura remained silent.

"Just do it," Kayura snapped, and Naaza was reduced to silently sulking.

**07**

She was nothing like Tomoe Gozen, Naaza thought, especially in her oversized armor. He watched as she feebly stabbed a youja soldier with her borrowed sword; she turned around just in time to narrowly avoid getting her head sliced off.

Naaza bit back an irritated sigh. He could have destroyed all of these pathetic soulless soldiers if he didn't have to babysit her. Naaza swung his swords around, keeping an eye on her. And then he felt it—a power unlike anything else. It wasn't the strength that had him worried; he was confident in his own abilities. It was how _foreign_ the other power felt that excited him.

It wasn't until Hotaru threw aside the sword and produced a pole arm did he realize that _she_ was the source of the power. Naaza watched as she fluidly cut down soldier after soldier, all signs of awkwardness lost. There was no breaking through her defense.

There was no way he was going to let her show him up. He swung out his swords. "Ja ga ken!"

Soldiers fell at once as poison and blades suffocated them. He glanced over at Hotaru, who had jumped away once she realized what he was doing. He smirked; she scowled as she figured out his aim—to embarrass her skills. Naaza strolled along, casually stabbing out with his sword when a youja soldier didn't immediately succumb to the poison.

"Death reborn revolution!"

A burst of energy swelled the area. Naaza whirled around, glaring at the bright ball of light that came from Hotaru's weapon. It crackled into tiny thin ribbons that flew around her, streaking through empty space and slicing down youja soldiers effortlessly.

The ribbons of light faded away. Hotaru gave him a look; he realized she was trying to out-do him. She stood stubbornly still as he stormed over towards her. So she thought she could best him, did she? He wordlessly grabbed her helmet and flung it aside, taking note of her defiant gaze. She was prepared for a scolding, a threat—so Naaza took off his own helmet, grabbed the back of her neck, and, still reeking of poison, kissed her.

He was not at all surprised when she shoved him away, yelping obscenities and punching his chest uselessly. With a grin, he simply told her she was an idiot before suggesting they regroup with Rajura.

(When he told the story to Anubis and Rajura later, he felt that they all missed the point—that _he_, in the end, one-upped _her._

"Imbecile," Anubis said, only to be choked down to the floor.

"Children," Rajura sighed, sipping at his tea.)

**08**

Anubis wasn't one to let Naaza win.

On their way back they had run into a band of youja soldiers. Naaza suggested that Hotaru take care of it, since she was hiding so much power. Hotaru, who had taken to looking incredibly on guard whenever Naaza addressed her, reluctantly stepped forward. She performed that same attack, with the ribbons of light that slashed through metal.

Hotaru returned to them, looking uncomfortable. "Happy?" she mumbled, avoiding Naaza's (creepy) gaze.

She did not expect Anubis to grab her around the waist, dip her, and kiss her with all the tongue and lips he had. When he broke away, he found her gaping and breathless. He smirked, glancing at the other two members of their party.

Naaza, held back by Rajura, was shrieking indecipherably.

**09**

"Kayura!" Hotaru practically sobbed once she spotted the empress of the Youjakai. She threw herself into Kayura's arms.

"Did something happen?" Kayura asked, patting Hotaru's head fondly. Anubis and Naaza, both with black eyes, avoided her gaze.

"Of course something happened," Rajura said dryly, rolling his eye.

**10**

Too many days had passed since Hotaru had arrived in the Youjakai, and there was still no sign of the other Senshi. She sat in Rajura's study chambers, watching him work. Kayura had mentioned that they were having difficulty creating a gate, and they hadn't been attacked since the incident with Demand and Saphir. Was the enemy slowing their pace? Or were they planning something else?

Hotaru sighed, turning back to the book in her lap. Her thoughts, however, strayed to Anubis and Naaza. Rajura, tired of her suddenly meek demeanor around them, had explained to her one night during dinner that they were not attracted to her in any way ("In fact," he had said, "I believe they share my sentiments that you are annoying and dumb."). When she realized it was a contest of power, she had scratched her head.

"That's not right," she said. "That's like assault."

Anubis and Naaza stared at her blankly before they drank their liquor. Hotaru then took away their drink, dancing out of their grasps until she made them promise they would treat women with more respect—and yes, she herself counted as a woman, and Kayura, too, and didn't they want wives and how were they ever going to have children with the way they acted? Anubis readily agreed, if only to get his drink back. Naaza took a bit of coercion, but eventually, through gritted teeth, he conceded.

That still didn't stop him from calling her a crazy bitch under his breath, though.

"If the Swords of Fervor broke," Hotaru asked suddenly, interrupting Rajura's thought process, "then they weren't real, right?"

"They were real," Rajura said. Hotaru wondered how she became so accustomed to his tones when he spoke; this was the voice he used when he was supremely bothered but didn't feel like arguing. "They were just not one of the treasures."

"Aren't you curious as to what the real treasure was?"

"They are artifacts," Rajura said, putting down his pen and looking at her. "I don't know what Kayura has told you, but they are useless. Wedding gifts, relics. They are for show."

Hotaru frowned. "She told me that the swords, the jewel and the armor were used to defeat Arago."

The magic word. At Arago's name, Rajura grew very still. It happened, she noticed, to the other two as well. They would tense, only for a second—but it was obvious enough to her.

"And in the end they were destroyed," Rajura said, turning back to his work. "If they were truly so powerful, they would have lasted."

"Did anything happen?" Hotaru asked. She knew he had already grown tired of the discussion, but she had to know. "When they all came together."

"Other than the defeat of Arago?" Rajura did not spit out the name like Naaza, nor did he scowl like Anubis. The look in his eyes, however, hardened. "Nothing remarkable. What do you care?"

Hotaru picked at the corner of her page. She let out a breath before she spoke again. "In our world, when the three talismans came together, my power as a soldier awakened. The owners of the talismans tried to stop it from happening. I was just wondering if something similar happened here."

Rajura was not looking at her but instead at the ceiling. "Your comrades did not want you to fight?"

"No, of course not," Hotaru said. "That would mean the end of the world."

"Saturn, then," Rajura concluded, meeting her gaze. "You are not Uranus, you are Saturn."

Hotaru didn't nod. She just held his stare for a moment before she glanced down at the book. She still felt Rajura's eye still piercing her, though.

"I understand now why you have caught Kayura's eye. She sees much of herself in you."

They fell into silence again.

**11**

The first time Hotaru had been alone with Naaza was the one time she had seen his room.

It was purely accidental. She had made a wrong turn, opened a wrong door, stepped into the wrong place. At once she knew she was lost, but she felt, oddly enough, entirely at home. The room was dark, but tiny little lights glimmered, like fireflies. They flickered, flames caught inside glass lanterns, casting shadows into the dark.

Her breath caught. She took another step in, closing the door behind her. It was as if she had stepped into another world. It felt like an odd sanctuary in this foreign strange land. Cautiously, Hotaru kneeled down and picked up a floor lamp.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Hotaru jumped, looking around wildly. Then she realized, oh, there was a bed, and reclined on the bed was Naaza. A chill shot down her spine as she set the lamp down. Already she missed its warmth. "I didn't..."

She trailed off when she realized he wasn't angry. He was just—speculatively watching her. That made her even more nervous. When he spoke, she tried not to jump. "How do you heal?"

"What?"

"How do you heal?" Naaza repeated, sounding like he was trying to teach a dog how to sit (that is, with very limited patience, but looking forward greatly to the result).

"It's—my own energy." Hotaru looked up at the ceiling. She couldn't really tell where it started or ended—it was just infinite black space. "In my previous life, it was hard to do. I wasn't strong enough then to support the power. Even now, I'm sure I'd have trouble healing someone else from your poison."

Naaza saw that she didn't realize she'd had just complimented him. He scowled. "How'd you do it then?"

Hotaru glanced back at him. "I... Since it's my own body, I use a little bit of energy to heal myself—and then I cycle the energy. So what's healed ends up supporting whatever needs healing, and it just flows through my body. I don't need to use much to begin with."

"Hmph," he replied. He was still watching her. Hotaru cringed as she awkwardly set the lamp back on the floor.

"Okay, bye then. Sorry for intruding."

"Take it," Naaza said lazily, turning onto his back. "That one's my least favorite. Rajura gave it to me. Smells like shit."

"I—are you sure?"

Naaza gave her a dirty look and she swooped down to grab the lamp. He closed his eyes as she made her way out of the room.

"Thank you," he heard, and he fought the urge to throw something at her.

**12**

Hotaru took her dinners with Kayura. That was the only time she was free; otherwise she was busy overseeing negotiations between territories. There was much that Hotaru didn't know about the Youjakai; she had only assumed that it was one single nation. Kayura explained that it was more than that, that there were territories and individual rulers. She, of course, was _the_ ruler, but that didn't mean that everyone liked her.

There were, for example, few people who willingly followed Arago. They called Kayura traitor, called Rajura, Anubis and Naaza far worse. Hotaru had been allowed to attend two of the diplomatic sessions. The first time, she had gotten angry at what the ruler said (unmasked insults at Kayura and the Masho and the failing empire). The ruler suddenly made a comment directed towards her. "You should learn to control your guard dogs, Empress."

Hotaru didn't even realize it, but she had been giving the ruler the coldest stare she could manage (and she knew her looks were like ice, sometimes—Michiru fondly loved telling the rest of the Senshi of when Hotaru, as a child, scared other kids at the playground). She apologized later to Kayura during dinner, saying that her behavior had been immature.

"Don't worry about it," Kayura said, shooting a significant glance at Anubis.

Hotaru didn't understand until the second meeting she attended. Anubis was present.

Kayura listened with great patience as the ruler of a southern territory attacked her with accusations of oppressing the people. Hotaru tried not to frown as the man continued to complain; she glanced around aimlessly once she realized Kayura wasn't _really_ listening. She was just good at pretending that she was.

"And you keep these beasts around," the ruler said, springing to his feet. He pointed a finger at Anubis, who cocked an eyebrow. "These beasts who would willingly betray their master at the first sign of struggle. And there are rumors you harbor Elysion soldiers—"

His words were cut short as Anubis grabbed him by the neck and slammed him down on the ground. Hotaru gaped. Kayura closed her eyes, grimacing. "Anubis—"

"My apologies," Anubis said mockingly, stepping back to the ruler. The ruler was sputtering nonsense, clutching at his own neck as he ordered for his own men to take Anubis down. None of the soldiers, however, dared move forward. They knew about the Yami Masho—they knew exactly what he was capable of.

The meeting shortly ended. Once everyone was shooed out of the room, Kayura smiled as she turned to Anubis. "Couldn't help yourself?"

Anubis openly rolled his eyes as he made his way out. "Don't tell me you wanted him to continue speaking."

Hotaru swore that he grinned at her as he walked by.

**13**

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you," Naaza said, sword drawn out at her neck. Hotaru made a face. She had only been trying to take a walk through the gardens when she literally ran into Naaza; he was also using the garden, not for peace of mind but to concoct some kind of healing balm. Too bad that when she collided into him, he had dropped whatever herbs he had picked.

"Naaza-san—"

"Naaza-_sama_," he corrected her, leaning in closer. Oh shit, Hotaru thought, did his sword just draw blood?

"Kayura!" she called out happily over Naaza's shoulder. At once he flung himself back, putting his sword away. He glanced over his shoulder—only to see an empty pathway. He turned a dark look at Hotaru, who was quickly trying to heal her throat.

"You little—"

"Why are you afraid of her?" Hotaru asked, ignoring the rage on his face. As long as he wasn't drawing his sword...

"You have no idea what you're talking about," Naaza said, his fingers resting on the hilt of his sword. "Just because you are in her favor doesn't mean I won't kill you."

"How many times have I heard that one?" Hotaru muttered, turning away. She gave him a slight bow before she continued down the path, leaving him with his collection of herbs. She had become not immune but more tolerant of the way he suddenly liked to threaten her. He really didn't mean any harm—she hoped.

It was rare to see Naaza out of his room. She cast a glance over her shoulder, watching him work as she walked. She had told Kayura about the confrontation in his room. Kayura replied that Naaza was a healer. Not in the same way she was, of course, but his skills weren't limited to poison. Hotaru was curious, but not enough to withstand the constant threats to ask him about it.

He was wild, she thought. And crazy. Still, she remembered how calm he was when she had stumbled into his room...

Hotaru wasn't surprised when she found Rajura around the corner. He was sitting on a rock, reading a book. Poetry, she realized from the cover. He didn't look at her when she passed by, but she mumbled a greeting anyway. She thought she saw the corner of his lip lift up, but that could very well have been an illusion. Ironic, considering who he was.

She eventually spotted Anubis sprawled out on a blanket. He was on his side, his back to her, propped up on his elbow. With his free arm, he nursed a sake cup. He threw a glance over his shoulder. "What do you want?"

Hotaru didn't answer; instead she made her way to his other side, sitting down beside him. She cast a glance down, trying not to stare at his body. She had found out, through the month that she had been in the Youjakai, that Anubis liked to drink in the gardens. He also liked to wear his yukata loosely, showing off his battle scars (and rock hard washboard abs, Hotaru shamelessly noticed) proudly.

"Drink," Anubis said, shoving the cup at her. Hotaru politely tried to refuse, until he gave her an exasperated glare. Out of the three of them, Anubis was the one she had to watch out for. Naaza was wild, but Anubis was unpredictable.

Hotaru stared at the cup, frowning. It had been one whole month since she had arrived in the Youjakai. She had spoken to Setsuna sparsely throughout that time; their conversations had been short, only enough to ease Hotaru's worries. No, nothing had gone wrong, it was just the task of opening the gates was far more troublesome than they initially thought.

"Kampai," Hotaru sighed. She tilted her head back, downing the cup. The bitter taste immediately warmed her throat, spreading through her body. Hotaru reached over, grabbing the bottle and pouring another cup. She handed it to Anubis with both hands. "You shouldn't pour your own drink."

Anubis lifted the cup in toast to her before drinking. Hotaru leaned back on her hands, looking up at the sky. The stars were bright. She felt movement to her right and smiled slightly as Rajura took his seat beside her. He had his own bottle and cup.

"Let the girl pour it," Anubis said. "You shouldn't do it yourself."

Rajura raised his eyebrows. Hotaru rolled her eyes but poured him a cup. The three of them sat there quietly for a moment before Naaza suddenly flopped down on Anubis's other side. He grabbed Anubis's bottle and drank straight from it.

"What is the word you like to say?" Rajura asked as Anubis threw a punch at Naaza. "Gross."

Hotaru, caught off guard, gaped. Then she started laughing, throwing her head back. "I can't believe you just said that!"

"You aren't very quiet when you mean to be," Rajura said. "In fact, I could let Anubis know what you think about him."

"You wouldn't dare," Hotaru said, pouring another drink. He accepted it.

"What do you know of what I would not dare?"

"And what do you think of me?" Anubis said, successfully having put his foot in Naaza's face. He leaned in towards Hotaru; she would have been intimidated if it weren't for the smirk he had on. "Should I kiss you again?"

He was cut off (and Hotaru was miraculously saved from answering, for she was sure she would have dumbly said yes, because, as wrong as it was, she thought Anubis was hot as hell) as Naaza grabbed his leg and pulled him back. "Didn't I say only I could threaten her?" Naaza growled.

"They seem to be fighting over you," Rajura said, handing Hotaru a full cup. Hotaru downed it without another thought, holding it out for a refill. "I looked more into the three treasures. The Jewel of Life is most likely the real replica of the Garnet Orb, although it currently resides with a human boy from your world. The sword, however, is another mystery."

"I see," Hotaru said. She accepted her fourth drink from Rajura, feeling her cheeks flush. This wasn't really illegal, was it? The Youjakai didn't have an age limit for drinking, did it? "Thank you."

Naaza threw his arm around Hotaru's shoulders, causing her to jump. "Pour me a drink."

"Why not drink from the bottle again, oaf?" Anubis asked.

"Shut up," Naaza said. "Girl, are you drunk already?"

"No," Hotaru said, spilling a bit on her hands. Naaza snorted, grabbing the cup and bottle.

"Women, really—"

"We had a talk about this, Naaza-san!" Hotaru scolded, her finger in his face.

"Naaza-_sama_," he said, grabbing her finger. She looked a bit confused.

"Hey, let go—"

"Who in the world would call you _that_?" Anubis said dryly. Naaza gave him a dirty look as Hotaru managed to get her hand back. She fell on her back, yawning and looking up at the stars. They really weren't that different, she thought. She just had to get used to this world.

As Anubis and Naaza squabbled, Rajura looked over at Hotaru. He noticed her shiver; wordlessly, he picked up his overcoat and slung it over her. "Oh," Hotaru mumbled, looking up at him. "Thank you—"

And then Rajura leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. Hotaru sputtered, unsure of how to react, especially in her muddled state of mind. The other two, however, were less hesitant.

"Asshole!" Naaza screeched, tackling the older Masho down as Anubis threatened to claw his only eye out.

(Rajura, of course, managed to take both of them on at the same time. He was not the Gen Masho for nothing.)

**14**

Hotaru, embarrassingly, fell asleep. Her face was barely visible under Rajura's overcoat. The three Masho sat silent, sipping their drinks. Above them, the sky twinkled. Naaza thought it resembled his room. Anubis thought it resembled what they couldn't have. Rajura thought it resembled what they were still fighting for.

Because what were they really fighting for? Redemption? Redemption meant nothing to them; it meant even less to Kayura. There was nothing they could do to make up for the past. It was their own folly, their own fault.

They were fighting for themselves.

Hotaru sighed in her sleep. Rajura, in a rare display of openness, brushed his fingers against her hair. "Anubis, what do you plan on doing when the Troopers arrive?"

"I owe Kourin no Seiji a favor," Anubis said, watching Rajura out of the corner of his eye. "I plan to repay it."

"I hope that means you will beat him senseless," Naaza muttered.

"Of course it does, you brute," Anubis replied. "Why, Rajura? What do you plan?"

"I plan nothing," Rajura said. He turned his sight away from Hotaru and back to the stars. "It all depends on what information they bring."

"I, for one, plan everything," Naaza said, almost smugly. "Suiko no Shin had better be in his sharpest sense of mind."

"I'm sure Kayura would enjoy you tormenting her favorite one," Anubis said. Naaza bristled.

"Kourin no Seiji is her favorite, _you_ should be watching out—"

"Who are you to tell me to watch out?" Anubis grabbed the collar of Naaza's robe. Naaza retaliated by grabbing Anubi's robe.

"Children," Rajura said, exasperated. They didn't listen as they both swung at each other, wrestling down onto the ground. At the noise, Hotaru rolled onto her side and peeked her eyes open. From her point of view from the ground, the world was eclipsed by grass, doused in Rajura's shadow. She blearily glanced up, fighting against a yawn as the stars above sparkled into blobs of light.

Anubis threw Naaza off of him. Naaza fell back onto Hotaru, who let out a rather manly grunt as she had the wind knocked out of her. Naaza, ignoring her, sprang back up, catching Anubis under the fist. Hotaru took a moment to breathe deeply.

The sky was absolutely the same, she thought as she watched the stars barely move. It was absolutely the same, and she wondered why she was already thinking that she would miss it when she left.

"You look, for once, contemplative."

Hotaru gave Rajura an annoyed glance. There was a hint of a smile on his face. "I was just thinking I won't miss this place at all."

"In addition to being annoying and dumb, you are a horrible liar."

"What would I miss?" Hotaru sat up, pulling the overcoat closer around her.

"You really wish to know?" Rajura's voice was—dare she think it—teasing? She looked at him again. The almost-smile was still there. "You have become fond of us."

Hotaru watched as Anubis sat on Naaza, who had passed out after a hard knock to the head. Anubis, lifting a bottle to his lips, raised his eyebrows at her challengingly. She turned away, her own almost-smile appearing on her lips.

"Not at all."

**15**

Kayura watched the scene unfold with a small smile, thinking that they hadn't acted so freely since Shutendouji died.


	13. Chapter 12

**twelve**

"Good _morning_!" Haruka called out cheerily as she stomped up the last of the shrine's steps. She whipped off her designer shades as she stepped forward; her heels clicked and clacked obnoxiously. Rei, in the middle of peacefully feeding Phobos and Deimos, cringed.

"Were you always this flashy, or is it—"

"Absence makes the heart fonder?" Haruka winked, squatting down beside Rei. "You missed me, admit it."

Rei threw a helpless glance at Michiru, who was more considerably subtle as she approached. Michiru took pity on her. "Haruka, cut it out."

"But I'm just so glad to see people!" Haruka protested. She grabbed a handful of seeds from Rei and gently chucked them on the ground. "Really, that crowd in Norway was not made of human beings. They were too stiff. Had no reaction to anything at all."

Michiru rolled her eyes fondly. She took a seat on the edge of the shrine floor, eyeing the grounds just as Setsuna made her way through the shrine entrance. Setsuna joined her, keeping her own sunglasses on. The two sat side-by-side, watching as Rei slapped Haruka on the arm for chucking a seed at Phobos.

"She thought it was funny!"

"No she didn't, she's glaring at you—"

"That's a smile!"

Michiru couldn't help but laugh. She tried to hold it in but found herself covering her face and looking away. Setsuna sighed. "And that, Michiru, is the other half of your child."

"How do I stand it?" Michiru shook her head, crossing her legs. "This feels nice, though, doesn't it?"

"Mm," Setsuna said. "This calm before the storm."

"If you want to call it that. I myself prefer 'a rare moment of peace.'"

"You, the optimistic?" The two women shared a small smile before they were very much distracted by Shin and Ryo in nothing but sweatpants and sneakers as they jogged around the corner. The two young men waved at Haruka and Rei (Haruka threatened to chase after them if they didn't pick up their pace; Ryo stuck his tongue out at her as he passed by while Shin winked at Rei) before they noticed Michiru and Setsuna.

Shin started once he spotted them; he paused in front of them, a tired smile on his face as he bowed. "Setsuna, Michiru-san."

"Good morning," Ryo said respectfully before he started off again. Shin followed after. Michiru and Setsuna wordlessly leaned over, watching them as they disappeared from sight.

"Oh my," Setsuna said, her hand at her mouth.

"I wouldn't mind having lunch with _that_ every so often," Michiru joked, poking Setsuna in the side. "Who knew that under those sweater vests was rippling, sweaty _muscle_—"

Setsuna hit Michiru on the shoulder. "You stop that right now!"

"—or toned, rock-hard _abs_—"

"Your image is quite the deception," Setsuna retorted, hitting her again. "If only everyone knew you weren't as gentle as you seem."

Michiru winked. "I'm not the one blushing."

"My skin is dark, I don't blush," Setsuna said, clearing her throat. She was saved from further embarrassment as Haruka flopped down on the other side of her as Rei sat down beside Michiru.

"So, Rei, shirtless boys running around the shrine? What does your grandfather think?"

"_If_ he knew, I'm sure he'd have a heart attack," Haruka added in addition to Michiru's quip. "Little miss shrine maiden, however, has just informed me that her grandfather is out of town."

"Is that so?" Michiru raised her eyebrows, glancing at the priestess. "And so when ojiisan is away, boys come to play?"

"You guys are too much," Rei grumbled, although she was smiling. "Men are—"

"Troublesome, dirty, a waste of time, tell me about it," Haruka said flippantly. "But come on, gossip with us. Don't you think that Hashiba kid's a looker?"

Rei continued to ignore her. Haruka sighed heavily as Michiru put a finger to her lip. "Hashiba, the one with the blue hair, no? I assumed Makoto was interested in him..."

"Did you really come here to gossip with me?" Rei asked.

"We came to enjoy the calm before the storm," Michiru said, her smile fading away. "I would have liked to call it 'a rare moment of peace' but of course Setsuna disagrees."

"What are the chances that Shutendouji will be allowed to return?" Setsuna asked, glancing at Rei's suddenly contemplative expression.

"He seemed very sure."

"I see. I have spoken to Kayura about the yoroi ball. She seems puzzled as to how it was in the enemy's possession. They're searching every man at the palace now."

"That yoroi ball is the least of my worries." At Rei's words, the three older senshi frowned. Michiru touched her shoulder.

"What do you mean?"

"This Badamon character... They all seemed wary of him. They said he was capable of dark magic. If he's truly that strong, then I'm not surprised he managed to escape. We all need to be careful."

"Usagi," Haruka said. "You mean Usagi."

"We need to watch out for her. Ami's concerned, too." Rei lifted her eyes to them with a sigh. "She messaged me last night after she left. Apparently that corrupt yoroi ball—you know about that, right? Apparently it gave a... reaction only when the Ginzuishou started purifying it."

"A reaction?"

"Ami thinks the Ginzuishou _changed_ the yoroi ball rather than purify it. She thinks that whatever powers it had before will be different now."

"And this puts Usagi in danger?" Haruka questioned. It was Michiru who nodded and answered.

"I see. If the enemy finds out what she can do, they'll realize who she is and target her instead of Jupiter. Understood. Ami was right to worry. I'll keep a close eye on her. Everyone else can focus on battle, I'll protect her."

Setsuna looked faintly bothered. "You think Usagi won't notice?"

"Of course she will," Haruka said. "And she's stubborn. She'll say that we don't need to protect her, that she wants to protect us. She'll cry until we give in."

"Unlike you saps, I'm quite accustomed to crocodile tears," Michiru said as she modestly brushed off her skirt. "Who was, after all, Hotaru's toughest mother?"

Haruka and Setsuna paused for a moment, reflecting back to a time where Hotaru had knocked over the Stradivarius. She was forced to retune it, only after apologizing to the violin itself. She had been five at the time.

"You were so _mean_," Haruka said, suppressing a shudder. "Poor Hotaru, no wonder she likes me best—"

"Excuse me," Setsuna said, stepping on Haruka's foot. Michiru reached over and pinched her.

"Ow! I was just kidding!"

Setsuna sighed, glancing back to Rei. The priestess was smiling, but she seemed tired. "Have you been sleeping alright?"

"Hm?" Rei blinked a few times. "Yes, why?"

"You look like you need some rest, that's all." Setsuna smiled kindly. "We should leave you alone, shouldn't we?"

As if on cue, Ryo and Shin rounded the corner again. Setsuna was very aware that Michiru was smirking; she kept her gaze determinedly at Shin's face, determined not to prove her sister senshi right. Haruka snorted. "You guys call that running? I would've done a lap twice as fast—"

"Now now, Haruka, we like the slow running," Michiru chided as Ryo and Shin passed on by. "More time for Setsuna to appreciate."

Setsuna slapped Michiru's knee. "Didn't I say cut that out?"

"Jeez, Setsuna, isn't this a bit overkill?" Haruka teased, catching on. "How much older are you anyway, like ten years—"

"Ten years—you little—"

"Hm, they are kind of cute," Rei said, her head tilted as Ryo and Shin disappeared from view. Only Michiru heard; Setsuna had pinched Haruka's ear and twisted, hard. Haruka was shrieking about the indignity of it all.

"Oh? Your type, Rei?"

"Not at all," Rei said, rolling her eyes. "Your type, Michiru?"

"Not at all," Michiru repeated, smiling teasingly. "Of course, it doesn't hurt to look, no?"

Rei, of course, didn't answer, choosing instead to examine her nails and comment on the weather.

After a moment, Michiru and Haruka left. They promised they would return the next day, ready to embark on the journey to the Youjakai to save their little girl. Setsuna stayed behind, mentioning that she wanted to speak with Shin.

Fortunately for her, it only took a few minutes before Shin and Ryo completed their final lap. She and Rei watched as they approached. To Setsuna's slight relief, they had found their shirts. "Man, what a workout," Ryo was saying, a big grin on his face. "We meet our goal, a hundred?"

"Hundred and one," Shin said. "You miscounted, but I didn't feel like correcting you—"

"Haruka left?" Ryo asked, glancing around, as if she would pop out from behind a pillar.

"Mm, she and Michiru plan on visiting the pool later." Setsuna wrinkled her nose as Shin sat down beside her. "Don't you smell lovely, Mouri."

"I try," Shin jested, nudging her. "Oops, sorry, I don't want to get your designer suit dirty—"

Rei raised her eyebrows, trying not to look too surprised at Setsuna. It had always been a mystery to the Guardian Senshi as to what Setsuna actually did. Guard the Time Gates, sure, and maybe work part-time at Keio University. But other than that, they had no idea. Minako theorized that she was running a harem (courtesy of Haruka's slick off-the-hand comment one day) and Makoto seemed inclined to agree ("What? Setsuna's got game!"). Usagi couldn't handle the thought of Setsuna living that kind of lifestyle, and Rei and Ami both thought the idea was ridiculous.

But seeing Setsuna now smile the way she was smiling at Shin—Rei was wondering if the theory held. "Setsuna and the Harem," she murmured, more to herself.

Ryo gave her an odd glance. "What was that?"

"Nothing," Rei said in a clipped tone. She side-eyed him. "Have a good sleep?"

"Yeah, thanks again," Ryo said. He was getting used to Rei—everything about her, the way she was, how she spoke. It was all rude at first, and maybe condescending, but he figured she was just like Seiji. A little cold on the outside and nothing but warmth on the inside. He didn't think he'd be getting to witness the warmth firsthand anytime soon, but he wasn't going to force that side of her to come out. "Come on, Shin. I'm pretty sure everyone else is trying to get Touma up right now."

"I doubt our combined forces will help any," Shin joked. He nodded a farewell to Setsuna before he and Ryo disappeared behind the screen door. As soon as she was sure they were out of earshot, Rei turned to the older woman.

"Setsuna, you need to be careful as well."

"Hmm?" Setsuna took off her sunglasses, placing them on the ground beside her. "Any particular reason?"

Rei fumbled with the sleeves of her robes. She pushed them back, reaching into the tie around her waist. From there she produced a card, handing it to Setsuna. Setsuna wordlessly turned it over; a grim smile played on her lips.

It was a tarot card, of Death.

"The last time I pulled that," Rei said hesitantly, "was during Galaxia's time. Right before I died."

"And you're saying this is for me?"

"It feels like it's for you." Rei took in a breath. "I wouldn't want to scare you, or make you wary. I don't know what this means."

"Of course." Setsuna continued to stare at the card. "If I may be honest, I've suspected for awhile..."

"Suspected?"

"Known."

"Setsuna..."

"It all fits, anyway," Setsuna said. She played with the edge of the card. "My duties are to the Time Gates. I have broken them again, after being punished last time. I've gone to the future, I've looked to the past. Forbidden, you know, as a time guardian is just that—a guardian."

"What did you go to the future and the past for?" Rei's question was quiet. Setsuna shook her head.

"I wanted to know there was still hope. That at the end of this battle, everything will be okay."

"And will it?"

Setsuna glanced at Rei, almost surprised to find the amount of trust the priestess had in her. "Of course it will be. It always will be, Rei, if you remember why you're here. I happened to forget, sometime along the years. And now I remember. There was no point in me going to the future. Everything will always be alright."

"But you'll die."

"I will die." Rei didn't look away at the coldness of the words, but her eyes watered. "Please don't mention this to anyone."

"Why are you telling me?"

There was a break in Rei's voice. Setsuna looked away. "I'm sorry. I'm being selfish. I hadn't intended on letting anyone know, but you approached me and..."

And she wanted someone—just anyone—to listen.

"Setsuna, I can't just—"

"I will die," Setsuna repeated more firmly. "Just as you have died for your princess before. It is my decision."

"There's another way," Rei said, standing up. "There has to be. It can't just—be like this, Setsuna. You'll come back, you'll go through the Cauldron and you'll come back."

"I won't come back," Setsuna said quietly. "Sit down, Rei. And, for a moment, can we just pretend that we don't know any of this? I'd like this rare moment of peace to last a bit longer."

Rei's breath shook as she stared at Setsuna, who was admiring the blossoms on the trees. After a moment, she sat back down, her fingers gripping the folds of her hakama tightly. She bowed her head, able to keep the tears in, but unable to accept what she had feared for awhile now.

Setsuna sighed, placing a hand on Rei's back. "It will be alright," she said softly.

"The talismans," Rei finally confessed, her voice shaking. "I see them destroying the world."

Setsuna's expression was neutral, but her mind was running. The talismans? What did they have to do with anything? The Silence had come and gone, Saturn had awakened without threatening the balance of the world... Unless... "You haven't told anyone, have you?"

"I don't know what any of this _means_."

"We both have our secrets then."

"I can't keep this to myself," Rei choked out, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. A few tears still fell, leaving big splotches on her hakama. She closed her eyes, trying to calm down. "What you're planning, Setsuna, it's not fair. You know that."

"It will be alright," Setsuna echoed.

A part of her wondered how long she could keep saying that, how long she could keep pretending that she didn't want another solution.

x

A day later, Usagi found herself gaping at the newcomer who suddenly appeared in a beam of light. The light died down, revealing the young man in dark blue robes. "Rei," she said quietly with wide eyes, "you never told us was _hot_."

"Was it necessary?" Rei said, not even bothering to look at her friend. Mamoru, standing right behind Usagi, sighed. Michiru patted his arm comfortingly. The Senshi and Troopers watched as Shuten took a step forward, his eyes locked onto Setsuna.

"Guardian," he murmured respectfully. Usagi's hands flew to her mouth at the sound of his low voice.

"I'm glad we could meet again," Setsuna said, nodding her head. "Death has treated you kindly."

"Not nearly as kindly as life had treated you."

"I think you missed that detail on purpose," Minako whispered, appearing on Rei's other side. "You wanted him for yourself."

"He's _dead,_" Rei said flatly, turning to exchange an exasperated look with Makoto. To her dismay, the taller Senshi wasn't even paying attention to the conversation, taking instead to stare at Shuten.

"But _hot_ dead," Usagi continued as she and Minako tilted their heads to check him out.

"You're kidding," Rei grumbled.

Shuten suddenly looked in their direction. Usagi's eyes widened even more. "Woah," she said, nudging Ami, "he looks so manly and serious! Your type, Ami, your type!"

"U-Usagi," Ami said, a bit flustered as Shuten stepped towards them. He bowed low, his hair spilling over his shoulders.

"Sailor Senshi," he said as he straightened up. "It is an honor."

Then he turned to the Troopers.

Shutendouji was exactly as Ryo had remembered. It was if he hadn't aged—of course he hadn't, he had _died_, Ryo thought. But he was wearing the same robes, carrying the same staff and looking at them with the same guarded expression. The Troopers, all in their subarmor, apprehensively stared back, wondering what to say, what to do. 'Thanks for sacrificing yourself so we could save the world' was most certainly not the way to go.

There was a pause, as if time itself had stopped. Then Shuten smiled. "I see you all are doing well."

Ryo stepped forward first, shoving away all thoughts of guilt. He clapped Shuten on the shoulder with a grin. "You look great yourself."

It was as if a dam broke. Shuu laughed openly, punching Shuten on the arm as if they had been great friends and not once-enemies. "Yeah, I bet you're getting all the chicks in the afterlife!"

"I'm glad you're here, Shuten," Shin said, clasping his hand in a shake. Touma nodded, propping his elbow on Seiji's shoulder.

"Really, we'd be lost if it weren't for you."

"No clue how to open a portal," Seiji added.

"It is my pleasure to be able to assist," Shuten said modestly. He caught Nasuti's eye and inclined his head slightly. "Nasuti-san, hello."

"Shuten," Nasuti said warmly, a smile blooming on her face. A small moment passed between them, in which she was comfortable in just looking at him. Shuu and Shin raised their eyebrows and whistled innocently as Touma counted the passing seconds.

"Well," Ryo said, interrupting the moment. Shuten glanced away from Nasuti, nodding at Ryo.

"I suppose we get down to business now?"

"First, here," Touma said, tossing Shuten his yoroi ball. "This belongs to you."

Shuten caught it deftly, but there was a curious look on his face. "Thank you. You purified it yourself?"

"With the help of a princess," Touma said, nodding his head at Usagi. Usagi grinned feebly, waving.

"Thank you," Shuten said, bowing again. "I cannot tell you how much I appreciate it."

"Oh, no, the pleasure was all ours," Minako said, stepping forward. Her eyes sparkled as she looked him up and down. She didn't know what she had been expecting when she heard about a dead guy coming back to life, but the man in front of her was definitely not it. Before she could say any more, Rei grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her back. "Ow, Rei—"

"Cut it out," Rei said, rolling her eyes. She turned her sharp gaze onto Shuten. "Your journey was alright?"

Shuten seemed to be amused, not at all bothered by the fact that Makoto was tight-lipped and staring at him with an obvious blush. "It was fine. I hope I didn't keep you up too late last night."

A very quiet and very high noise escaped both Usagi and Minako at the implication of that sentence. They stared at Rei who, to her credit, didn't even bat an eyelash. "Don't worry, I was only pretending to listen to you and actually fell asleep," she said flippantly. Shuten didn't take offense; he chuckled, bowing his head.

"I will admit, I'm pleased to actually hear your sharp wit in person."

"Don't get used to it."

"I'm afraid it's too late for that."

"Oh my _god_," Usagi whispered behind her hand. "Is Rei _flirting_ with a _dead_ _guy_?!"

"Hot dead guy, Usagi," Minako corrected, looking concerned. "No wonder she's always sitting in front of the fire, saying she's uninterested in men. I bet she's dating a ghost."

Rei turned her darkest glare on the both of them. Quite unfazed, Minako put a hand to her chin and nodded.

"No mission is impossible. Usagi, you in?"

"In on _this_?" Usagi looked incredulous. "You bet I am!"

Haruka stepped forward. As much as she loved seeing Rei get so riled up (and especially that Minako and Usagi were the ones to do it), she wanted nothing more than to get to the Youjakai. The sooner they got there, the sooner they could get back. "All fun and games aside," she said, catching Shuten's attention, "we're ready to go. Are you?"

"Of course." Shuten turned to the Troopers, pausing as his eyes fell on Nasuti again. Seiji caught his meaning.

"Nasuti, perhaps you should stay here?"

"Oh," Nasuti said. Her expression fell, but only for a moment. Of course she had to stay. Unlike before, when she had been to the Youjakai with Jun, she had nothing to offer. She would just be a burden. Still... "Right."

"You'll take care of Jun, right?" Ryo added, slinging an arm around her shoulder. She started, still unaccustomed to the fact that these boys—young men—were now all taller than her. When she had met them, they had just been teenagers...

"Jun can take handle himself, you know that," Nasuti replied. She patted his hand. "Be safe, you guys."

Shuu and Touma both saluted her. "Yes ma'am."

"Seiji, Shin, you'll take care of these boys?"

Seiji smiled, nodding his head as Shin laughed. "We'll do our best."

So Nasuti stepped back, watching as Shuten pushed back his sleeves. During their goodbyes, the Senshi had all transformed. It was odd, eerie, mystical, even, to see them all gathered in one place. A thought came over Nasuti, one that always made her turn her eyes to the ground. These Sailor Senshi were the same as the Troopers—they depended solely on themselves. It almost seemed like they were shouldering the weight of the world, and they had no one else but each other to rely on.

Nasuti was glad both groups found each other.

"So," Uranus said, hands on her hip. "How does this work?"

"You try not to lose your lunch," Ryo said wryly, exchanging a glance with Touma. He distinctly remembered feeling slightly sick the first time Shuten had thrown them into the Youjakai.

"And try not to get lost," Touma added. Jupiter and Mercury automatically grabbed Sailor Moon's hands.

"Oh come on, guys, it's not like I'm a puppy—"

"You're a puppy," Jupiter said. "Don't even try to deny it."

"Pfft," Sailor Moon grumbled, though she was grinning.

"If you're all prepared," Shuten said, holding out his staff. The rings tinkered against each other playfully, creating a melody that caused Pluto to smile slightly. Memories, she thought, of the original Kaos. She had hardly known him, but she had known the sounds the staff made.

"We're ready," Venus affirmed. Her eyes slid to Mamoru, who had taken his place beside Nasuti. "Ty not to get kidnapped while we're gone, will you?"

Mamoru's smile was fairly polite as he nodded. "As long as you keep her safe."

"Pfft," Sailor Moon said again, rolling her eyes. She was the only one who missed the slight tension in Venus's shoulders at his words. "As if, Mamo-chan, you know I'll be protecting _her_—"

"Let's go," Mercury said hurriedly before Venus could say something biting. It didn't happen often, but Mamoru and Minako butted heads—always at the wrong place, and always at the wrong time. Usagi was the only one who didn't notice, and no one bothered to tell her. It was just Mamou being overprotective, Minako being stubborn.

Shuten spun the staff in his hands, the rings clinking noisily together; without warning, he threw it into the air. Sailor Moon's eyes squinted almost shut as the staff disappeared in a blinding pillar of light. She glanced around, seeing Jupiter start to sparkle. A second later, Mercury also started shimmering. And soon, one-by-one, the rest of the Senshi and the Troopers were glowing.

Sailor Moon turned her gaze back to Shuten, her brow furrowed. Before she could open her mouth and ask what was happening, the world disappeared before her eyes and she was flying straight up into the pillar. She clenched her eyes shut, gripping Jupiter's and Mercury's hands tightly. It was an odd sensation, having the ground so far away, and yet it wasn't uncomfortable.

In fact, she felt as if the Ginzuishou were guiding her.

As sudden as the sensation started, it stopped. Sailor Moon opened her eyes, glancing around wildly. Beside her, Mercury had activated her goggles. Jupiter let go of Sailor Moon's hand, taking her around the shoulder. "How you feeling?"

"It's weird," Sailor Moon mumbled, shaking her head. "It felt like..."

"Gee, wish I was warned about all this water," Venus grumbled, interrupting her train of thought. She was standing on one foot, trying not to get the other wet. Mars and Neptune looked equally uncomfortable. "Hey, Shuu, wanna give me a lift?"

"No way," Shuu said, laughing. "Not unless you say the magic word."

"Oh come on, be a gentleman!"

"Who told you to wear heels?" Ryo teased. She pouted at him, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"Thank god for our boots," Jupiter commented. She looked around with a slight smile. The aesthetics was beyond anything she had imagined. It reminded her of Elysion, which made sense considering what Setsuna had told them. She bent down to touch one of the many lotus flowers that sparkled against the surface of the water. The flowers, though, were nothing compared to how close the stars were. "So this is the Youjakai?"

"It's very beautiful," Mercury said, sounding distracted as she read the symbols that flew across her goggles. "Also very similar to Elysion energy-wise. I wonder, is there a power source that fuels the energy?"

"Never thought of that before," Seiji said, looking at Shuten. "Any ideas?"

"It draws its powers from my mother planet," Pluto answered for him. She waved her staff; the mist around them cleared, revealing a partially opened red gate that stretch infinitely into the sky. "Good aim, Shutendouji."

Shuten shrugged at the compliment. "The gate should lead us straight to the palace," he explained, seeing the confused looks. "Kayura is expecting us."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Seiji murmured, leading the way. Venus immediately bounded after him, trying not to grimace every time her heels squished around in the water. Soon, the party passed through the gate to arrive in an abrupt change of scenery. The ground of water had faded away, leading into a wooden bridge. In front of them, against the backdrop of the starry sky (with the stars so close, so near, almost within reach) was a large, ornate palace.

"Looks better than when it was crawling with youja soldiers," Ryo commented.

"I have to agree," Shin said, nodding.

And there, waiting patiently in front of the palace, was Kayura. The second she spotted them, she held her hands up to her mouth, covering her smile. Beside her, Rajura, in his own subarmor, stared at them evenly, his bored expression unwavering as they neared.

"Oh man," Shuu said. "I forgot about the Masho."

"How could you forget?" Shin asked, smiling slightly. "Shuten is right there."

"I imagine this will be quite awkward," Seiji said, trying to keep his expression neutral.

"You bet," Ryo muttered, but he easily grinned when Kayura clapped her hands together.

"I'm glad you made it safely," she cried out as soon as they were within hearing range. Her eyes roamed each Trooper's face before they rested on Ryo. She beamed. "You all have grown."

"So have you, little lady," Seiji said amiably. "Or should we be calling you Empress?"

"Of course you'll call her Empress," Rajura said. Though his voice held no emotion, they could easily see the annoyance in his face.

"Rajura," Shin greeted before Ryo could retort. "You look well."

Rajura nodded, acknowledging the bearer of Suiko. Out of the Troopers, he had found Shin to be somewhat sensible. That didn't mean much, however, considering the rest of his company. He glanced around, his gaze passing right over the Senshi before his eyes fell on Shuten. "So you manage to break the laws of death as well."

"Temporarily," Shuten said with a slight smirk. Kayura's smile widened as he stepped forward; her hands returned to her mouth.

"Shutendouji—"

"I believe this belongs to you," Shuten said, holding out his hand. Kayura reached forward, taking the yoroi ball he offered. "Don't lose it again."

"No, I won't," Kayura said earnestly, holding the yoroi ball as if it were a treasure. "I promise. We figured out how it was stolen, though. It was a palace hand, hired by Badamon—"

No one missed the way she vehemently said his name. Uranus raised her eyebrows, sharing a look with Neptune. So this Badamon really _was_ unpopular.

"I had suspected Badamon had a hand in it," Shuten said. "A yoroi ball that could open portals—what a ridiculous notion."

"Well, there goes that theory," Jupiter quipped.

"It wouldn't hurt to test it anyway," Mercury said, looking hopefully at Shin. The corner of his lips lifted; not for the first time, he couldn't help but think how similar she was to Touma.

"Maybe after this is all over."

Shuten turned to the entrance of the palace, eyeing it. No doubt he was thinking about how much had changed. "I assume those goons are bickering somewhere inside?"

"Of course they are," Rajura said, rolling his eye. "Those children."

"Oh, right!" Kayura said, focusing her attention back to the Senshi and Troopers. "Forgive me for being rude! We can use my dining room to discuss our plan of action next. Oh Shuten, Anubis and Naaza will be so glad to see you, they've been antsy since they found out you'd be coming—"

"Have they now?" Shuten looked amused as he stored away the information for future blackmail.

"Man," Shuu grumbled as he followed after Kayura into the palace. "Who wants to bet Naaza tries to poison us within five minutes?"

"I'd wager a dinner on that," Shin said, quietly enough so that no one but Shuu and Ryo could hear.

"Make it two dinners," Ryo grumbled. Jupiter, nearest them, gave them a skeptical look.

"You guys are awful. I thought you said they joined the good side."

"You can join the good side and still be evil, my lady," Shuu said, suddenly linking his arm through hers. "Don't worry, I'll protect you though."

Jupiter wrinkled her nose. "More like I'll protect _you_, midget."

"Midget?" Shuu's mouth fell open. "What does that make you, super midget? I'm taller, you know—"

At their exchange, Seiji gave Ryo an inquisitive glance. Ryo shrugged as Shin wiggled his eyebrows up and down. It was Venus, however, who threw her arm around Seiji and grinned. "Jealous of their newfound friendship? I assure you, Seiji, we can have the same thing, if you want—"

He was thankfully spared from answering as Kayura threw open the doors to the dining room of the palace. The sight that greeted them made everyone pause. Naaza was on the ground, his face smushed under Anubis's foot. He was flailing with his arms, trying to reach out for Anubis; Anubis, however, dodged every attempt to be dragged down. Hotaru sat off to the side, her chin in her hands, watching them boredly.

At the sight of them, Hotaru abruptly stood up. Anubis's foot slid off Naaza's face, and Naaza sat up.

"Aren't you supposed to be dead?" Naaza said bluntly. Shuten raised his eyebrows.

"I thought some time would teach you to stop eating dirt off the floor, but I suppose that was wishful thinking."

Anubis snorted as he clasped Shuten's hand. It was as if Shuten had never died. "Believe me, not even a beating would teach him manners."

"Such a shame that task had to be left to you," Shuten commented. To everyone's surprise, Naaza just rolled his eyes.

"Touching reunion," Ryo mumbled, watching Naaza and Anubis carefully. There was something raw about them; where Rajura had been cold, the two of them were openly challenging the Troopers with their smug stares. Or maybe that was him being paranoid. They had joined the good side, right? And if Kayura had accepted them, then they were okay... Right?

"Naaza, you look well," Shin said cordially, making the first move. Naaza's attention turned from Shuten to Shin. He smiled unkindly.

"I wish I could say the same for you, Suiko no Shin," he said. Shin narrowed his eyes, but he kept his mouth shut. Naaza smirked until Kayura delicately stepped on his foot.

"Here goes," Seiji said under his breath.

"What was that, Kourin no Seiji?" Anubis tilted his head back. "Perhaps you'd like to repeat yourself for everyone to hear?"

"Stop embarrassing me," Kayura hissed, stepping on his foot as well. "Why can't you be more like Rajura—"

"Woah," Venus suddenly said, not even bothering to hide her stare at Anubis as she nudged Jupiter. Anubis stared back, looking almost troubled. "Hey Hotaru, who's the hottie?"

"Hotaru," Ryo suddenly said, his gaze snapping to her. In the midst of, well, everything, they had forgotten about the teenager. She stood there with a slightly amused look, although her expression quickly became flustered when Ryo abruptly threw his arms around her.

"Um excuse me," Uranus said as Neptune bit her lip to keep from smiling. Pluto raised her eyebrows but said nothing.

"Jeez, you had me so worried!" Ryo said after he broke apart from Hotaru, holding her at arm's length. She cringed nervously—not because of how close he was, but because of the look on Uranus's face.

"Hey, pretty boy, get your hands off—"

"Rekka no Ryo," Kayura said loudly, cutting in between the two. She swiftly grabbed Hotaru's arm, smiling almost too pleasantly. Uranus decided that she very much liked Kayura. "Shall we proceed to our discussions?"

"Yes, let's," Uranus said, grabbing Hotaru's other arm. She leaned down, dropping her voice to a whisper. "When we get back home, we are going to have a good talk, young lady—"

"Tell me about it," Hotaru mumbled, trying not to notice that both Naaza and Anubis (maybe even Rajura) had temporarily joined forces in order to glower at Ryo.

It took a moment for everyone to get seated (Venus couldn't make up her mind if she wanted to sit next to Anubis or Shin, and in her indecision was stuck next to Sailor Moon), but eventually they were all in place. Kayura looked first to Pluto, bowing her head. "I apologize for not greeting you earlier, Guardian."

"No apologies needed," Pluto said warmly, standing up. "I know firsthand how charming Shutendouji can be when he wants to."

"I do not blame him for attempting to charm someone as beautiful as you," Naaza said abruptly, causing Pluto to abruptly sit down in confusion. The Troopers stared, Rajura lifted an eyebrow, Anubis lowered his own, and Shuten looked terribly perplexed. Hotaru, however, reached under the table and pinched him. He glared at her. "Do that again and I will cut off your fingers."

"Naaza-san," she hissed, undaunted, "that is my _mother_—"

"Naaza-sama," he corrected, and he gave her a sour look. "And how on earth did something like you come from someone as beautiful as her?"

"Told you she's got it," Jupiter said quietly to Venus, who was biting on a finger in glee. Neptune was patting a very startled Pluto's shoulder as Uranus wondered what to make of his weird, beady-eyed man. Mars rolled her eyes and Mercury had clasped her hand over her mouth while Sailor Moon leaned forward in her seat, enjoying the spectacle.

"Naaza, stop that," Kayura said, looking cross. "You're creeping our guests out. And Hotaru is just as beautiful—"

Naaza crossed his arms, looking the very part of a scolded child. Shuu opened his mouth, found that he had absolutely nothing to say about what just happened, and closed it. Shin scratched his head. "I'm not sure how to react..."

"My apologies, Guardian Pluto," Kayura continued. "I suppose the first order of business then is to figure out a plan of action?"

"Right," Uranus said, taking charge before Venus could open her mouth. "How sure are you that the source of coming from Elysion?"

"Fairly certain," Kayura answered. Rajura handed her a large scroll, which she unfurled and spread across the table. "We have mapped out the potential next area of attack by the enemy. It seems that they're following some sort of alignment of the planets. We had intercepted them on their last battle."

"The planets?" Mercury stood up to get a better view of the map. After a moment she nodded, pointing at a spot marked with an x. "This mirrors our world completely. If you look here, this point would coincide with where your recital was, Michiru. And here," she moved her finger to another marked point, "is the flowershop. And the festival, and then the battle with Saphir and Demand... Where had you been attacked, Mako-chan?"

"Just outside of school," Jupiter answered with a frown. "Daikanyama."

Mercury nodded, tapping another marked spot on the map. "Approximately here. And so their next attack..."

"That's Keio University," Touma said, staring at the next marked spot. "Assuming that they don't change their plans, of course."

"But we don't know when they're going to attack," Shin said. "Especially after we took the yoroi ball back..."

"I'm not familiar with this Badamon character so I wouldn't know his method of planning," Mercury said, putting a hand to her lip. "Assuming, though, that he had wanted us to use the yoroi ball when it was corrupt—perhaps he doesn't plan on changing his strategy—"

"Badamon was crafty," Rajura interrupted. "We need to be cautious."

Kayura narrowed her eyes. "He was crafty, but he was not very innovative. He had only one method of attack. I would not put it past him to keep with this battle plan."

"So what do we do?" Uranus asked. "From the way you guys talk, it doesn't seem like he's the kind of guy to come out and fight his own battles."

"No," Anubis said, "he most certainly is not."

"So we go to Elysion," Venus said. She turned her gaze onto the ceiling. "It just bugs me that something's going down there and yet Helios hasn't said anything..."

"Maybe he can't," Jupiter suggested. "We won't know until we try."

"If I may suggest something," Seiji said, drawing attention to him. "I'm still unsure of the details on this Elysion—"

"What a surprise," Anubis drawled. Seiji ignored him.

"—and as such, I don't feel comfortable having everyone traveling there while the Youjakai and potentially our own world are left defenseless."

"I agree," Neptune said. "Some of us should stay here, in case something happens."

"What, you don't already know?" Uranus teased. Neptune hushed her with a level stare.

"So," Ryo said, taking a deep breath. "Who goes and who stays?"

There was a moment of silence as everyone mulled the thought over. Touma spoke first. "I think Shin and I should stay here. Ryo, Seiji and Shuu, you guys can handle it?"

"Duh," Shuu said as Seiji nodded his agreement.

"Sounds good." Ryo turned to the Senshi. "You guys?"

Venus pursed her lips before she came to a decision. "Mars, Jupiter, you two go to Elysion. I'll stay. Mercury, I want you here, too, in case something goes wrong—this Badamon guy attacks the human world or something."

"Agreed," Mercury said. "Sailor Moon, I would like it if you were with us as well."

Sailor Moon chewed her lip. "But Elysion..."

"Oh come on, you'll have like centuries later to stare at it all you want," Venus said. She winked. "Come on, when's the last time we had fun with Ami?"

"Well, if you put it like that," Sailor Moon said, catching the hint as she not-so-subtly snuck a glance at Touma. "Sure, I'll stay."

"I'll stay as well," Neptune said, giving Mars a significant glance. She turned her gaze to Uranus. "Be nice to Setsuna and Hotaru, and try not to miss me too much."

"Already over it," Uranus said fondly. She looked pointedly at Anubis. "I want you to come with us."

Anubis raised his eyebrows. "And if I disagree?"

"You won't," Uranus said confidently. "Something about you says you enjoy danger."

Anubis didn't reply, but he smirked nonetheless.

"Man," Shuu muttered to Seiji, who tried not look unbothered at the fact that Anubis was joining them, "I was hoping they'd all stay."

"So the rest of us will remain here," Shuten concluded. He caught Mars's eye. "Unfortunately, I won't be able to see your so-called control over fire."

"Keep talking and maybe you will," Mars said smoothly, brushing off her skirt. Shuten did nothing to hide his smile.

"You're threatening me now, Sailor Mars?"

"Only if you want it to be a threat."

Venus and Sailor Moon (and also Seiji, even though he wouldn't admit it) looked between the two with much interest.

"So," Kayura said, tearing the attention away from them. "We'll travel to the assumed battle spot, and from there we could travel to Elysion."

"We?" Shuten shared a glance with Rajura. It was the elder who spoke.

"Kayura, you have a land to rule. We cannot allow you to come with us."

"But," Kayura said, her confident features taking on a rather childish look, "I can help. I'm not going to sit by and let Badamon do whatever he pleases!"

"Kayura," Touma said calmly, drawing her gaze to him. "The Youjakai needs you. If something should happen to you—"

"I'm quite capable of taking care of myself," Kayura argued. Jupiter and Mars, exchanging looks across the table, smirked approvingly.

"Empress," Sailor Moon piped up, "I know you're worried about what will happen if you're not there. Believe me, I want to go too. But you just have to believe in them."

Kayura stared at her for a moment before she closed her eyes, nodding. She sat down with a sigh, but she said nothing further.

"Great," Venus said, clapping her hands together. "Shall we get going?"

"Well," Hotaru said hesitantly, sharing a look with Rajura. He nodded, taking control of the conversation.

"We have been looking into the talismans."

"The talismans?" Neptune said sharply, narrowing her eyes at him. "What of them?"

"Replicas of your talismans had been created in this land," Rajura explained, not at all hindered by the caution in her eyes. "The three objects, though not quite as genuine as your own, did hold quite enough power to take down Arago. We had assumed them to be the Kikoutei, the Swords of Fervor and the Jewel of Life."

"Two of which no longer exist," Touma said, eyes widening. "What does that mean?"

"It means that while they were incredibly powerful, they were not talismans. We've found the real replica of the Mirror, but the Sword is still a mystery."

"I don't get it," Uranus said flatly. "Why are we talking about talismans? What does this have to do with anything? Okay, so you can't find it. So what?"

"This is simply a theory," Rajura continued, noting that Shuten was looking more concerned with each passing moment. "A wild one at that, with no real grounds. But there is the possibility that the Sword cannot be found because someone else is in possession of it."

"Badamon," Mercury said with wide eyes. "Oh no—you can't possibly think..."

Beside her, Mars had clenched her hands in fists. Ryo noted the tension in her posture, the way her eyes stared at the table, as if she couldn't bear to look up. Had she known about this? She had mentioned the talismans before, hadn't she? He'd have to confront her later...

"Again, it is a far-fetched idea," Rajura said. "But perhaps when all three replica talismans of this world come together, there will be no chance of winning."

"What," Shuu said, completely ruining the atmosphere. "What does that mean? What's a talisman?"

Pluto closed her eyes. "Neptune, Uranus and I are carriers of the three talismans of the human world. The Deep Aqua Mirror, the Space Sword and the Garnet Orb. When combined, they have the affect of waking up Sailor Saturn's powers, which will destroy the world."

"Obviously we found a way around that," Uranus said, glancing over at Hotaru. The girl looked relatively calm, despite the fact that Touma and Seiji were both staring at her apprehensively.

"The Jewel of Life," Shin said slowly. "It's in the human world, with Jun."

"And the Mirror is here," Kayura said, nodding her head. "He would have to fight desperately to locate all three."

"We can't take any chances," Sailor Moon said abruptly. Her eyes were worried as she bit her lip. "Some of us need to go back."

"Mamoru and Chibiusa," Jupiter said suddenly. "We can let them know, can't we? They can guard it."

"Chibiusa's still learning," Venus said. She looked dubious. "And Mamoru, well..."

"The Jewel of Life will be fine. The Golden Crystal is more than enough to protect it," Pluto said. She glanced briefly at Mars, who was sitting very still. "I trust the Mirror will be safe with you, Kayura."

"Of course it will," Ryo said. He stood up. "We're wasting time. The more we sit and talk, the more time Badamon has to act."

Moments later, the group gathered in front of the palace. The party heading towards Elysion stood together, saying their brief farewells. Neptune and Saturn were off to the side, speaking quietly; Uranus watched carefully. Tiny details pointed out that there was something wrong—a hint of sadness in Saturn's eyes, the barest confusion in Neptune's smile. The two casually rejoined the group after a moment, acting as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

Anubis smirked at Naaza before he turned to Pluto. "Guardian, shall we be off?"

He bowed, offering her his arm. Naaza's lips turned into a thin white line as Pluto blinked. She glanced at Neptune, who held up her hands as if to say, "Hey, you're the single one, not me."

"I need to know her secrets," Jupiter murmured to Mars as Pluto uncertainly took Anubis's arm. Saturn stared.

"A—Anubis, that's—my _mother_—"

As he led Pluto away, Anubis gave Saturn a look that clearly said, "I really don't care."

"How do I feel about this?" Shuu asked Seiji, who watched the scene with a grimace.

"I'll let you know once I figure how _I_ feel," he answered. Ryo sighed, rubbing the back of his head.

"Well, we can't sit here all day acting like he's going to attack us."

"Although that is a good possibility," Shuu pointed out as Anubis gave Saturn another leer over his shoulder. Uranus laughed, her arm around Saturn as she tried to comfort the distressed girl.

"Oh come on," she was saying, oblivious to the glare Pluto was throwing at her, "let the old woman have her fun!"

"Let's just try to make the best out of this." Ryo saluted the party staying behind with Kayura. "We'll be back soon."

And they were off. Kayura was the first to retreat back into the palace; one-by-one, the others also left. Rajura and Neptune both stayed behind, watching them depart until they could no longer be seen. She tried to quell the coldness in her chest as she turned back to the palace. Saturn's words lingered in her mind, replaying endlessly.

"Michiru-mama, take care of yourself."

There had been no reason for her to say that, Neptune thought.

"You are troubled as well at their leaving," Rajura said, jarring her out of her thoughts. She turned to the one-eyed man, wondering why he was still there.

"It isn't every day I send my comrades off into battle," she said plainly, hiding her emotions easily.

"You are more astute than that." Rajura turned to her. She was surprised at the serious gaze he had; she had only assumed he was working with them for the sake of the following Kayura's orders. "What did she say to you before she left?"

Neptune's stare grew colder. "Is that any of your business?"

"I am making it my business."

Neptune stiffened. "I don't know what happened this past month you were with her," she said, her tone as cutting as possible, "and I don't quite care—"

"She expressed her concern that she and the Guardian Pluto will die," Rajura interrupted, his voice was just as icy. Neptune broke off, staring at him. Her breath caught in her throat.

"Explain."

"I believe this is the first time she has transformed in quite awhile?" Rajura watched for any hint of expression on Neptune's face. "I don't have to explain it to you. She harbors the power of ruin within her. In order to use that power and not destroy the world, she will have to rely on the Guardian Pluto to open a dimensional gate to seal her in."

Silence. Neptune stared at him so furiously that he was almost taken aback. This was just a repeat of everything, she thought. From the battle with Pharaoh 90... And what kind of parent was she that she hadn't caught on? What kind of mother overlooked details like that? She turned away, clenching her hands into fists. "Hotaru told you all of this?"

Rajura didn't have to answer. She looked at him and knew he was telling the truth.

"'Take care of yourself.' That's what she said." Speaking the words out loud had a chilling effect. Neptune found it hard to swallow, now that she knew what the words really meant. Rajura paused before he inclined his head.

"And for her sake, I hope that you do."

**an** ugh so many characters and longest chapter in the world ;;; and... does anyone have evidence of the senshi referring to sailor moon as just "moon"? for some reason, i typed it out as that and it just didn't feel right (hence the "sailor moon" vs "mercury/mars").

as always, thank you for reading! xo


	14. Chapter 13

**thirteen**

Touma closed the book and tossed it aside, quickly taking up the next volume out of the large stack he had gathered earlier. While everyone else was strategizing, he and Shin had decided to try to find anything they could on the Youjakai talismans. Across from him, Kayura moped. "Touma," she said, slumped over the table. "Shouldn't we be doing something more useful?"

Touma fixed her with a slight glance. "Something more useful?"

"Yes! Like going to Elysion and fighting Badamon!"

He turned back to his book immediately, not even bothering to answer. Kayura pouted, slinking back in her seat and crossing her arms. For as long as she had been Empress, she had been known to be reasonable—kind, but not beyond cruelty. The majority of the land thought she was mature for her age, fit to be a ruler. It was not odd for Touma to see such a childish expression on her face, but a palace hand would have gotten quite the shock if they had witnessed the scene.

From around the corner of a large bookshelf, Usagi and Minako peered at them. "You think he wants to date _her_?" Usagi asked, only to be hushed by her blonde guardian.

"Keep your voice down, Usa, we have to be _stealthy_." Minako lowered her eyebrows, apparently thinking that it added to her stealth factor. "And no, I don't think that, but apparently his buddies do."

Usagi, of course, was clueless as to where Minako had received that piece of information. She scratched her head, watching through a gap in the books as Kayura continued to pout at him. Touma paused in his reading to give her a slight smile as he mentioned something about her looking like a kid. "I dunno, Mina, they kinda look cute together."

"He is _Einstein_," Minako hissed, grabbing Usagi by the lacy pink collar. "He is _Einstein_ and we cannot fail _our_ Einstein."

Usagi would have said something along the lines of, "Who the heck is this Einstein you guys keep talking about, seriously?" if it hadn't been for the sudden appearance of Shin head's in-between them. Instead she clasped a hand over her mouth, trying not to shriek as Minako clutched at her heart. "Oh my gosh Shin don't _do_ that," Usagi said from behind her fingers.

"You two look like you're meddling," Shin said good-naturedly, catching sight of Touma and Kayura from between the books. He raised his eyebrows, glancing at Minako. "But meddling in exactly what, I'm not so sure."

"Pfft," Usagi said unconvincingly.

Minako, recovering from the near heart-attack, batted her eyelashes at him. He continued to smile, absolutely unfazed. The past couple of days in her presence seemed to have immunized him. "Oh, Shin, we were just, you _know_."

"Oh really? I know?"

There was something in his tone of voice that Minako attributed to Michiru and Haruka. It was the 'I Know Exactly What You're Doing, but I'm Going to Play Along and Humor You Because You Are like a Cute Little Child to Me' voice. Normally Minako would have been thrown off and offended, but it was Shin. He had the bone structure of Matsuyama Kenichi, and there was no way she could be angry at a face like that.

"Of course you know," Minako said sweetly.

"Know what?" Touma's voice asked loudly. The two blondes squealed, destroying every effort to be stealthy.

"Quick, pretend to read!" Minako whispered, grabbing a book. Usagi had already opened one, burying her face in it. Shin didn't have the heart to tell her it was upside-down.

"Sailor Venus? Sailor Moon?" Kayura stood up from her seat, rounding the corner. She took one look at the sight and her hopeful look was dashed. "Don't tell me you want to help research as well."

"Of _course_ we do," Minako said airily, sticking the book back. She bounded over to the empress, smiling broadly. "Why else would we be here?"

Kayura simply heaved a sigh, heading back to where Touma sat with his eyes in his book. She slumped back in her seat, crossing her arms again. Minako hesitated; then she plowed right forward, taking a seat next to Touma. She had to give the guy credit, she thought as he thoroughly ignored her.

"Touma," Minako sang, chin in hand as she peered at him. Usagi and Shin watched curiously as Touma's nose wrinkled.

"Yes?"

"Wouldn't you have much more progress if a cute genius girl were here to help you?"

If Minako had been paying attention to anything other than Touma's facial cues, she would have seen the slight grin Shin suddenly had at the mention of 'cute genius girl.' Instead she focused on the way Touma simply blinked. "What?"

"Oh, you know," Minako drawled, much to his confusion.

"Why does she assume everyone knows?" Shin asked Usagi playfully. Usagi shrugged; she herself was lost on Minako's methods, even if she had caught that 'cute genius girl' meant Ami.

"If you're offering help..." Touma said slowly, deciding if he should back away from Minako. She was far too close, and her eyes were far too shiny to really be that innocent. He momentarily wondered if she was a bit insane.

"Oh, no, I can't help," Minako said excitedly as he finally took the bait. "But Ami, she can definitely help you, you guys make such a great pair together, you know? I'm surprised you guys aren't dating!"

Usagi was somehow able to turn her nervous laugh into a cough. She herself was no guru at love, but was Minako really going for the obvious approach? Ami would kill her, Usagi thought as Touma rolled his eyes. "Is dating the only thing on your mind, Aino?"

"What, it's not on yours?" Minako leaned in even closer. Touma scooted away. "Come on, picture it. You and her, reading, theorizing, eating sandwiches. Great, isn't it?"

Touma was not quite sure what kind of date that was. "That sounds like my study sessions with Seiji."

"Or a date with Ami!"

"Minako," Usagi groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. Ami was absolutely going to kill her. Kayura, however, was looking from Touma to Minako with wonder.

"You are interested in Sailor Mercury?" Kayura asked innocently. Touma looked incredibly hassled.

"No, not like that! Why are we even—forget it," he grumbled, closing his book with a snap. He reached for another one before he seemed to realize Shin was there. "Oh, Shin, did you find anything?"

"Human World textbooks had nothing," Shin said, smiling. "How about we take a break?"

Touma looked like he very much wanted to shoot down the idea, but Kayura stood up before he could say anything. "Excellent idea, Suiko no Shin! I can show you the gardens! Hotaru loved it, and I'm sure you will as well."

Gardens, Minako thought. Romantic, her brain connected. "Great, let's find Ami and bring her along! Touma, would you like to get her?"

"I can find her," Shin said, already making his way to the exit. Minako and Usagi both stared at him. Touma looked grateful for the reprieve; he gave Shin a discreet thumbs-up, one that was returned with a wink. He sat up, stacking the books on the table before following after Kayura.

The gardens, he had to admit, was more beautiful than he had imagined. Then again, the Youjakai was a lot more scenic now that Arago was gone. As he admired a blooming sakura tree, he let his thoughts drift suddenly to Arago. He knew the others had dreams about the battles they had gone through. There was a time when Ryo confessed to everyone that he wasn't sure if he was going crazy; it was only when they all admitted to having the same dreams did they realize that they weren't quite alone.

Post-traumatic stress disorder, Touma had always thought. Of course it was. There were nights when he woke up breathless and shaking from a dream where Arago had been resurrected the Troopers couldn't defeat him. There was no going back to sleep after a dream like that; he spent the rest of his night staring blankly at the wall, trying to clear his mind.

"You could try another coping mechanism."

Touma looked down and left, where Minako stood idly by him. Though she had on a playful smile, he recognized the look in her eyes. It was pity. "Pardon?" he opted to say.

Minako was quiet for a moment, tipping her head up to study him. Then, "You look like you don't sleep enough. I know the feeling."

It wasn't pity. It was sympathy. Touma glanced over the gardens, trying not to sigh. "I appreciate your effort, but I don't need a pep talk."

"Not a pep talk," Minako said. "A warning. Seriously. I know we're practically strangers, but you need to get your head straight on your shoulders."

"If I recall correctly," Touma said almost coldly, "I was the one looking for information on the talismans while you were trying to goad me into a ridiculous idea."

"And obviously it's stressing you out more than giving you answers," Minako replied smoothly. "You need to step back and breathe. Trust me, it'll be good for you."

She didn't outright say it, but she knew he understood her message. _If something goes wrong and someone gets hurt because your brain is too scattered, then I'm holding you entirely responsible_. Which, Touma thought, wasn't fair at all. Several factors could go wrong in any battle; just because he was too caught up in trying to find an answer didn't mean it was his fault.

Briefly, Touma wondered how she knew. His mind filled in the gaps; Mizuno probably did the same thing, he realized. And Minako had probably said the same words to her.

"So then what's your coping mechanism?" Touma asked after the two fell into a quiet lull.

"Mine? Oh, you know, the whole 'life is too short' thing." Minako shrugged a shoulder, playing with a few strands of her golden hair. "Can't slow down for a second."

"Are you trying to tell me that's why you're so..." Touma racked his brain for the right word, trying not to be offensive. From his (lack of) experience, girls were sensitive. While he would have chosen 'obtuse' if he had been speaking to Shuu, he settled on, "Flimsy."

"Wow," Minako said, not missing a beat. She grinned. "You really are a brick."

Touma grimaced. "You sound like Seiji."

"Ah, there they are," Kayura said, clasping her hands together and interrupting their conversation.

Everyone turned to see Ami's petit form approaching. Shin walked beside her, grinning at something she was saying. As she neared, Minako cringed and hoped that Touma thought askew glasses and tousled hair was cute. Ami didn't seem to care as she smiled at them all. "This is a beautiful garden, Empress. It really calms the mind."

"I'm glad," Kayura said, beaming. "Feel free to look around more!"

"Shall we?" Shin asked Ami, who nodded eagerly. Minako, who had been intending on strongly suggesting that Touma show Ami around, snapped her fingers in defeat.

"Yes, I had wanted to take a closer look at the large tree over by the West side. I only saw it over the rose garden, and I can't put my finger on what species it is."

"Lead the way," Shin said charmingly.

Minako was too upset at the lost chance to notice that Shin was looking at Ami endearingly as she suddenly stooped to observe a flower she didn't recognize. He squatted beside her, tilting his head as she spoke. "I'm sure Mako-chan would know," she said, finger at her lip. "It looks like it could be a kind of lily, but I'm not sure what kind."

"Why not ask Kayura?" Shin suggested. Ami blinked a few times before she laughed.

"You're right," she said, shaking her head. "I can't believe that thought didn't even cross my mind."

"You have too much up in there," Shin said teasingly. Ami had the grace to look embarrassed. "Come on, let's find that tree."

Touma, however, realized exactly what the cute little looks were, and he hid a smirk.

"Pardon me for interrupting," Shuten said gravely, causing Usagi to jump at his sudden presence. Really, she thought, what was with people and sneaking up on others? The thought was quickly replaced with panic at his next words. "Rajura and Sailor Neptune have gone missing."

Silence. And then Kayura stood up, her chair falling behind her. She darted away, with Usagi at her heels. In minutes she was in front of the large mirror connected to Neptune's Deep Aqua Mirror. "Sailor Neptune," she spoke clearly.

The surface rippled. Rajura's face greeted her. "Kayura," he said, forgoing formalities. "We are in Elysion. We will return shortly. Prepare healers."

"Rajura—"

The surface rippled again and his image was gone. She stood staring at the mirror before she turned around. The Senshi and Troopers were gathered, as well as Anubis and Naaza. Now was not a time to worry, she thought as she straightened her posture. "Naaza, prepare for healing. The rest of you, dining room. We shall wait for our companions."

Naaza didn't argue. Anubis followed after him, motioning for the Senshi and Troopers to follow. Usagi was the only one left in the room, watching Kayura as the empress paced. She spoke after a moment. "Kayura," she called out.

"Hmm?" Kayura's feet paused. She blinked a few times. "I'm sorry, I must seem frantic."

"No, no, that's fine," Usagi said, waving her hands in front of her. She smiled faintly. "I'm freaking out myself."

Kayura closed her eyes briefly, tangling her fingers into her hair. She took a deep shuddering breath, shaking her head. "I'm worried sick," she said. "Why would they go there unless something happened? Unless someone was in trouble? He said to prepare healers."

"They're fine," Usagi said, reaching out to touch Kayura's shoulder. "Empress, they're strong. They'll be fine."

"Then why did they go?"

"Knowing Michiru-san, she just wanted to make sure Haruka-san isn't causing trouble. And you mentioned it earlier, Rajura likes Hotaru."

"Sailor Moon," Kayura said, opening her eyes. She found herself staring in eyes that were as blue as the endless summer sky. "What if we made a mistake?"

"We didn't," Usagi said gently.

"I'm useless," Kayura confessed, grabbing onto Usagi's shoulders tightly. She searched those blue eyes for an answer. "I should have gone."

"You're not useless," Usagi said firmly. She smiled again. "Someone told me once that sometimes all we can do is hope. That everyone else is too busy being worried that they don't have time to believe in themselves. We have to hope for them, okay?"

Kayura nodded slowly, feeling her worry ebb away slightly. Usagi grinned.

"Good. Now let's go and prepare for them, okay?"

x

There were crystals everywhere. That was the first thing Ryo noticed; they jutted out of the ground in each and every way, teetering up into the sky. It was very monochrome, Ryo decided, much too uniform for someone like him. It was quite opposite of the Youjakai, which was alive with stars and dirt and people like Kayura. Elysion was very still, very elegant, very—cold.

And then there was the water.

It was a different kind of water. There were no lotus flowers or stars in its reflection; it seemed like a completely blank slate, still until disturbed by the wind. They stood on the edge of the seemingly infinite lake, staring at the small temple that lurked in the middle of it. That, too, was made of crystal.

Apparently, however, the crystals were not supposed to be black.

"We shouldn't have left Ami back there," Jupiter said right away. "Jesus, what happened here?"

"More importantly, why couldn't Mamoru feel it?" Uranus frowned, squatting down and running her gloved fingers through the water. A small ripple momentarily crept through before the surface of the water stilled again. "Everything seems so..."

"Dead?" Shuu offered. He frowned as he glanced around. Even if it was his first time in Elysion, he knew that a place so lifeless shouldn't exist.

"This is far from what the stories say," Anubis commented plainly. He turned to Pluto, whose eyes were watching the temple. "Elysion is supposed to be golden, is it not?"

"Supposed to be," she murmured. She took a few steps forward until she was beside the crouched Uranus. "What do you think?"

"Too still," Uranus said. "This is probably the biggest trap we've walked into."

"A trap?" Ryo narrowed his eyes. "What makes you so sure?"

"It doesn't feel right here, Ryo," Seiji said calmly. His own eyes were looking at the sky. "I don't know what it's supposed to feel like, but it's as if something is suppressing the energy in the ground. It's different from a rampant evil. It's like something is controlling the very air we're breathing..."

"Trap or not," Jupiter said, licking her lips, "we need to do something about this."

"If there is anything we can do," Pluto said, straightening up. Everyone turned to her, surprised at the coldness of her words. She met each of their gazes wearily. "Seiji is right. There is something controlling every single particle of this land. This is not something we can take on ourselves."

"So, what?" Uranus asked, still running her gloved hands through the lake. "We go back, get everyone else?"

Pluto was quiet. She looked over the water, watching the black crystal of the temple gleam darkly under the sun. This was something they should have sensed. How was the Golden Crystal so unaffected? Nothing from the future showed the downfall of Elysion. Then again, she _had_ committed taboo... Who was to say that the Space-Time Gates had only showed her snippets of the future? She was only a guardian. The Gates was an entity itself.

"Setsuna?"

Pluto glanced at Ryo. She nodded, signaling for him to continue.

"What do you think?"

This young man was putting his trust in her, and she didn't even have an answer for him. She looked into his eyes, a color so blue that she was sure the very heart of a fire rested in him. Pluto could remember watching from the Gates when they had first confronted Arago. It had pained her back then to see them so helpless, so conflicted—and yet they had been so strong.

"I think we should find the source of this," Pluto eventually said. "Mars?"

"No," Mars said quietly, her gaze on the ground. Her brow was furrowed as she tried to concentrate. "I can't feel anything except for—for this cloud of evil aura. Date's right, it's blocking everything."

Shuu sighed. "So we're at a dead end?"

"Seems like it," Seiji said. "I wonder why we haven't been attacked yet, though."

"Right," Uranus said, picking up on what he was saying. "For the nine of us to be smack dab in the middle of this darkness, don't you think our own aura would have been detected?"

"Sounds just like a trap," Jupiter said. She cracked her knuckles, glancing around warily. "We're gonna get attacked either way, so I say we just start looking."

"And where do you recommend we start?" Anubis asked, unable to keep the scorn out of his voice. He hadn't expected much from the Troopers, but he certainly was not pleased that none of these Senshi knew what they were doing.

"Honestly," Uranus said, "this wind is too still and that water is too restless."

It was as if she had spoken the magic words. The first thing that immediately followed was that Mars doubled over, crying out. Jupiter had her hands around the older girl automatically. "Hey, Rei—"

"Move!" Mars growled, grabbing those nearest to her—Jupiter and Uranus—and yanking them off to the side. The rest of them followed, only by instinct. A second later, the ground they were standing on exploded into the air, showering them with shards of black crystal.

"Move!" Uranus repeated, pulling Jupiter up and pulling out her Space Sword. Patches of ground continued to explode; she paused momentarily only to shield her face from a barrage of crystals. She felt the shards dig through her uniform, tearing through her gloves and scratching her bare legs. "Damn it—"

It was like stepping on landmines. The Troopers and Anubis fared only a little better in their armor; Seiji grabbed Pluto, attempting to shield her from the crystals as their unsteady ground rocked them forward. Ryo and Shuu had broken off from them, trying to keep as much distance as they could. Seiji realized it then; the exploding patches of ground were not random. It was targeting them.

"Someone's controlling this," Seiji said to Pluto, who had managed to avoid another shower of crystals aimed at her. "We need to cover ground—"

Pluto nodded, leaping out of the way as more crystals tried to attack her. She watched as Mars narrowly avoided stepping right on a patch that exploded. "We need a plan."

Her gaze strayed to Saturn, who blocked an attack from all sides with her Silent Wall; Anubis stood within her dome, a glower on his face. "What is causing this?"

"If we knew, Anubis, we wouldn't be running," she almost snapped, bringing her glaive down. She grabbed his hand and pulled him along. "Hurry."

Anubis, however, was not one to run. He planted his feet on the ground, standing firm, even as the ground shattered right under him. Saturn's hand slipped from his grasp; she gritted her teeth as she reacted too late. A few crystal shards tore at her, slicing through her uniform and cutting her skin. "Anubis!"

"And where do we go?" he openly challenged her. "To more ground, where more crystals will cut you? Our enemy is here and I plan to fight him."

"Then where is he?" Saturn held up another Silent Wall, just in time to prevent a barrage of larger crystals from impaling her. "How do you think you're going to fight your enemy if you can't even see him?"

"I shall make it so he cannot see us," Anubis said snidely. He unsheathed and raised his sword from behind him, ignoring the crystals that continued to pelt his armor. He was briefly aware of Saturn putting up her barrier again—but he was more aware of the all light slinking into his sword. Little by little, the world darkened. It was a rush, every time—no matter how many times he would pledge his allegiance to Kayura, he knew where his heart really belonged. The darkness.

"Great job, Anubis," Shuu spat out from afar. "Now we can't even see to dodge."

"Actually," Uranus's voice said hesitantly, "is it just me or did the attacks stop?"

"It's as if they can't sense us anymore," Seiji said. It was evident in his face that he did not approve nor appreciate the method. "Anubis's own darkness is covering us, blinding them just as they had blinded us."

"No." That was Mars. Her voice was sharp amongst the others. "Setsuna, it's the temple! The source of evil—I feel it now, it's coming straight from the temple!"

Pluto, however, had made eye contact with Saturn. The two of them were still, quiet, both with cold looks in their eyes. Unlike Jupiter, whose skin was crawling at the sheer dark energy coming from Anubis, or Uranus, who had taken to holding her Space Sword as a source of warmth—Saturn and Pluto reveled in the darkness. It was their birthplace, their element, their calling.

"The temple," Pluto said, breaking away. "Anything else?"

"There's..." Mars trailed off, a frown coming to her lips. She glanced at Seiji. "Do you feel that?"

Seiji seemed started that she was consulting him. Nevertheless, he managed a nod. "It's weak, but I think I understand what you're talking about."

"What is it?" Ryo asked, having regrouped with them.

"It's like a wave of darkness, trying to overcome Anubis," Seiji said after a moment. Anubis snorted.

"Let them try."

"Okay, so these crystals are stopped for now," Uranus said, trying to stop the argument Shuu looked like he wanted to have. "What next? We need to get to the temple—"

"Teleport?" Jupiter suggested with a shrug. "I mean it brought us here."

"Let's hurry," Mars said, grabbing Jupiter's hand. She reached out for Saturn. "That wave is getting closer."

Pluto ushered the Troopers and Anubis into the middle before she took Jupiter's and Uranus's hands. Within minutes, the whole party felt the world tugging at them. Shuu scrunched his eyes shut, and when he felt the ground under his feet again, he opened them.

"This is inside the temple?"

None of the Senshi answered. They were all staring at the walls of the temple, also carved from black crystal. Jupiter clenched her fist, taking a deep breath. "I know it looked like this on the outside," she muttered, "but I was hoping that on the inside..."

"I have another question," Shuu said, breaking into their thoughts loudly. "Why didn't we just use your teleport-thing to get to the Youjakai?"

"The human world and the Youjakai have different barriers, but Elysion welcomes us," Pluto said dismissively. She turned her eyes to Mars, who was staring at a particularly large crystal jutting out of the ground. Mars slowly reached out and touched the crystal; abruptly she pulled her hand back. "What is it?"

"Nothing," Mars said. She glanced around briefly. "There's a feeling in the air."

"What kind?" Ryo asked.

"I'm not sure," Mars admitted. Again she found herself looking to Seiji for confirmation. He nodded.

"There is an overwhelming evil aura, but underneath it there is something much akin to the power of your Ginzuishou."

"Well," Ryo said, turning to face them both. "Only one way to find out. Let's go."

Mars took the lead, holding a ball of fire in her hand. They moved quickly, darting through the long hallways. Seiji found the darkness tugging him, as if it had hooked him and was reeling him in. He tried to ignore the feeling, instead focusing on its presence. It was concentrated now; he could almost picture a small ball of darkness.

Mars threw open the large ornate doors to reveal Badamon hovering over an open tomb.

"So the sacrifices have finally arrived," Badamon said, only for Ryo to throw a well-aimed sou-en-zan at him. He didn't wait for the results; he and Shuu both charged right in, katana and tetsubo ready—only to collide with an unseen barrier that had also stopped his surekill. Ryo slashed at the barrier and Shuu slammed into repeatedly, trying to cut through to no avail.

"It's no good," Jupiter muttered, watching as Ryo and Shuu continued their assault. She had never seen this side of them before—this almost desperate, angry tirade. "How do we..."

"You're Badamon?" Uranus spoke up loudly, attracting Badamon's attention from the two Troopers. "Funny, thought you'd look a little less like bleep."

Badamon only smiled, floating away from the tomb. He stopped right before the barrier; Ryo pounded his fist against it.

"Stop hiding," Shuu snarled. "Get down here and fight us like a real man—"

"Oh, but I am spirit," Badamon said. "No one, not even a Samurai Troopers, can kill spirits."

"I did before, didn't I?"

Badamon ignored Ryo, looking instead to Anubis. "And you—"

"Shut up," Anubis spat, his lips set in a scowl. "You dare try to walk the Earth again after everything you have done?"

"Of course a blind underling like you wouldn't be able to understand." Badamon glanced at Jupiter, whose eyes were narrowed dangerously. "And I see the soldier of Jupiter is here as well. Perfect."

There was something, Seiji thought, that was different about Badamon. Perhaps it was that he was acting of his own free will. There was no Arago to command him; maybe that was what gave him a confidence boost. Either way, Seiji couldn't help the spike of anger run through his body.

"Date," Mars murmured, stepping closer to Seiji so he could hear. "That tomb..."

"Ah," Seiji said, barely nodding his head. Both of them had their eyes trained on the open tomb behind Badamon. While everyone else was carefully trying to assess how to deal with the sorcerer, the two of them had felt the dark energy concentrated into the tomb. "But just what is it exactly?"

"Get rid of the barrier," Mars said. "You can do it."

It was the simplicity in the way she said it that had him wondering how and why she suddenly trusted him so much. Was it the situation and the battle at hand? Seiji lifted up his sword, feeling his energy gather. It was as if the armor _wanted_ to destroy that barrier.

"Rai ko zan!"

"Akuryo taisan!"

Their combined forces shattered the barrier; Ryo didn't hesitate to slash forward with his swords as Shuu slammed his tetsubo down onto Badamon. Badamon, however, disappeared in a wisp of air; he reappeared several feet above them, and not alone. Several ankoku priests suddenly appeared, their hands splayed out, chanting.

"Sou en zan!"

"Careful!" Seiji snapped, watching as Ryo's attack swallowed the entire room. He narrowed his eyes as he noticed that there was another barrier, around the tomb. So Badamon was trying to protect whatever—whoever—was in there... "Ryo, Shuu, don't destroy the place!"

"Damn it," Shuu growled, swinging the tetsubo out. "We can't do anything if we have to hold back!"

"Hold back?" Uranus's lips tightened as she surveyed the damage. "You're kidding, right?"

"Do whatever you want," Jupiter said, shifting her stance. "As far as I'm concerned, this place isn't the Holy Temple anymore."

"Jupiter—"

Jupiter ignored Pluto, crossing her arms. The air around her seemed to crackle. "My guardian, Jupiter—brew a storm, call the clouds, bring down the lightning!"

A large bolt of lightning crashed down from the sky, tearing a hole in the ceiling as it struck Jupiter's tiara. Badamon seemed to pause in fending off Ryo to watch her.

"Supreme thunder!"

The lightning that flew from Jupiter crashed right into an ankoku priest, disintegrating him. Badamon actually looked pleased. "It seems I was right," he said as he called another ankoku priest to take the now-empty spot. "The leader of the Sailor Senshi is indeed powerful."

The Senshi didn't even bother correcting him; Jupiter held out her hand gathering another attack as Uranus sent out a world shaking that was reflected off a barrier. Ryo grabbed Pluto's arm, catching his breath for a moment. "Should I be careful, or—"

"Do what you must," Pluto said almost regretfully. She watched with a grimace as Anubis suddenly sprung to life with a grin. Sorry, prince, she thought.

"Ankoku chohigiri!"

"Gan tessai!" Shuu roared, joining their attacks. Badamon held up another barrier around himself, but the ankoku priests were too slow. They all faded into wisps, their screams echoing through the room. Stray energy from their attacks struck the ceiling, sending shards of crystals down to shower over the heads. Saturn quickly threw up a Silent Wall.

"You're still holding back," Ryo said to Shuu, who scowled.

"I can't help it! After all those times Nasuti's yelled at me—"

"Dead scream." The two of them watched as Pluto's attack soared right at Badamon, only to be deflected. Instead of looking disappointed, she nodded grimly. "This battle will go nowhere. He intends for us to run out of power."

"So how do we get rid of that barrier?" Anubis said impatiently, glaring at Badamon's almost-smug smile. "He will keep calling spirits."

Pluto's eyes caught sight of Mars and Seiji, who had managed to sneak to the tomb unnoticed by Badamon. She realized what they were trying to do and gave the others a sharp look. "Keep attacking him. Chronos typhoon!"

Anubis threw another attack, well-timed with Pluto's tornado of darkness. He felt—he paused as their attacks joined together. No doubt she felt it too—the way that their energy seemed to thrive off each other. He gave her a slight glance; she kept her smile hidden well.

"You are wasting your time," Badamon dared to taunt.

"Really?" Shuu argued back, despite himself. "It seems to me that your buddies keep getting beat every time!"

As if to emphasize his point, Ryo attacked the nearest ankoku priest, who didn't even put up a fight. Badamon said nothing, did nothing except establish his barrier again to throw off an attack from Uranus. Jupiter sent another volley of lightning in his direction; this also was reflected.

And while they distracted Badamon, Mars finished placing ofuda around the barrier. She stepped back, her hands held up in front of her. "Whenever you're ready."

Seiji shifted his sword, bringing it before him. He glanced at Badamon, who still seemed oblivious. But the second they tore down the barrier (which was much stronger than the one from before), he would know. That meant they had to act quickly.

"Rai ko zan!"

"Akuryo taisan!"

The barrier fell, Badamon gave a howl, and Mars and Seiji sprang forward, narrowly avoiding the beam of energy that struck their heels. Mars's hand was ready with a ball of fire. Seiji was right beside her, the Kourin sword lifted above his head, charged with energy.

But then Seiji froze, staring at the body in the tomb. His mouth went dry. "Arago," he whispered. The light fading from his sword as Mars's flames enveloped the body alone. She gave him a sharp glance; this scathing stare he was more familiar with.

"What are you—"

She was cut off as Badamon threw a large beam of energy at her. The attack left a hole in the back of her uniform, still smoking as she gripped the edge of the tomb, trying to pick herself up. Seiji whirled around, aiming for Badamon. "Rai ko zan!"

Idiot, he thought as he used the moment to grab Mars around the waist and haul her to safety. Idiot, you are an idiot, why did you _freeze_—

"Seiji!" Ryo shouted, warning him. He barely managed to avoid Badamon's next attack, too preoccupied with the tomb. Arago's body had been there. Arago's _body_ had—was Badamon trying to revive him? A coldness filled him as he leapt out of the way of another beam of energy. He swallowed, shifting Mars, but she shoved him away suddenly, barely giving him a harsh look.

"Ryo, the tomb!" Mars called out, drawing a large circle of fire around her. "Burning mandala!"

Ryo picked up her words, turning his aim from Badamon to the tomb. "Sou en zan!"

It was too late. Badamon had thrown up another barrier, this one stronger than the last. Both attacks bounced off uselessly. The ankoku priests were chanting; Shuu felt the air around them pick up. "What—"

His words were cut off as the temple faded from sight and suddenly they were back on land and across the lake once more. The only difference was that instead of tiny little crystal shards trying to stab them, there was a legion of youja soldiers before them—more than he had ever seen before. His mouth fell open. Beside him, Uranus gripped her Space Sword. "I hope that you were still holding back in the temple, kid."

"Don't worry about that," Ryo said to Uranus. The crowd was approaching. Time to test out the true power of the new armor, he thought as he swung his attached katana out. "Choudando sou en zan!"

Uranus and Jupiter both brought up their arms to shield themselves from the sheer mass of energy that exploded from Ryo. They squinted through the light, watching as the attack tore through a good chunk of the legion. It was only for a brief moment, but it felt like they stood an eternity in the presence of such overwhelming power. When the light finally cleared, the two of them couldn't help but gape at the destruction.

"What are you standing around for?" Shuu couldn't help but ask smugly. Jupiter shut her mouth and narrowed her eyes at him.

"So what, back in Tokyo you were letting us do all the dirty work for you?"

"Au contraire," Shuu said smoothly with a wink. "We just didn't want to pay for collateral damage."

"Collater—"

"Choudando rai ko zan!" Seiji yelled, interrupting their banter. Uranus and Jupiter took another moment to gaze at the destruction in awe; it was not as massive as Ryo's attack, but it was still much more effective than a 'world shaking' or 'supreme thunder.'

"These brats," Uranus grumbled. "I can't believe you guys were really holding back."

"How else would we save the world?" Shuu turned back to the enemy, focusing his energy. He felt it crackle at the tip of his tetsubo as he swung it around over his head. "Choudando gan tessai!"

The ground tore apart as his surekill blazed through youja soldiers. Mars let out a slow breath, watching as the Troopers continued to annihilate the crowd with what seemed like barely any effort. It was as if the Senshi didn't have to do anything but sit back and watch.

But then there was Badamon—or rather, a large image of him, taking up the sky. "I will be back for your bodies, Rekka no Ryo, Sailor Jupiter," he said, his voice echoing as it descended from the clouds.

"Coward!" Anubis shouted as the large image started to fade away. "You coward!"

"Focus!" Uranus snapped, bringing his attention back to the youja soldiers. "These guys aren't letting up; we need to find whatever is controlling them or spawning them or whatever it is that's making them tick. Badamon can come later!"

"Don't tell me what to do," Anubis growled, but he let his surekill fly over a mass of youja soldiers without argument. Saturn attacked with him, ignoring his annoyed glare as her ribbons of light cut through the soldiers in front of him. "Find your own crowd, girl!"

Beside them, Mars and Jupiter took to double-teaming the youja soldiers. Every razor-sharp leaf that flew at the youja soldiers was accompanied by a roaring flame. Pluto was busy attacking with Ryo and Shuu, unbothered by the fact that her 'dead scream' had a limited target range compared to their surekills.

Seiji, after a moment, felt it in the back of his mind as he destroyed another crowd of youja soldiers—the feeling that he had overlooked something. They were unrelenting. Where were they coming from? The instinctive feeling intensified. The path in front of him cleared up, but he couldn't help but look behind him.

"Anubis," Saturn was saying, her hand on the Yami Masho's arm. "_Don't_."

"Shut up," Anubis said, shrugging her off. He had his back to her as he slung his sword lazily across his shoulder. He was staring across the large expanse of the lake, nodding. "So all I have to do is destroy that crystal?"

"If you can," Uranus taunted as she wiped the blood trickling down the side of her head. "Don't underestimate this land."

"You are the one underestimating things," Anubis said. "How do I get back into the temple?"

"What's going on?" Seiji asked. Mars looked like she didn't want to answer him, but no one else offered an explanation. Barely moving her lips, she explained.

"There was a crystal back in the temple with an odd aura around it. The aura has intensified. It's the source controlling these soldiers. You don't feel it?"

Seiji was pretty sure that was disdain in her voice. "I don't," he admitted. So that was what it had been. The crystal he hadn't noticed, but Sailor Mars had.

"Of course you don't," he barely heard her mutter reproachfully under her breath. Before he could respond, however, Uranus and Pluto disappeared with Anubis in a flash of light. They returned moments later without the Yami Masho.

"He'll take care of it," Uranus said. "Meanwhile, we take care of these guys before they open any holes to Youjakai."

The look she gave him however meant, "Get back to destroying things with your large amount of power you've been holding back on us, pretty boy."

It seemed almost like an eternity, but in actuality it was only minutes before Seiji felt it again. The odd aura, he realized. That's what Mars had been talking about. He glanced at her, confirming his suspicions as she tensed. "What's—"

"It got stronger," Mars yelled, her voice cutting over the sound of battle. Uranus glanced at her, alarmed.

"What do you mean, stronger?"

Before Mars could answer, the temple exploded. They all whipped their heads in the direction of the temple, staring as the once-majestic temple of Elysion crumbled into dust. For a moment, it seemed as if it were being consumed by darkness. And then the darkness faded away abruptly, almost as if someone had turned on a light switch.

Ryo split his katana, breathing heavily as the youja soldiers suddenly collapsed. "What's going on?"

"He did it," Uranus said, but she sounded, for some reason, unsure. "He did it, right, Mars?"

Mars hesitated. Then her eyes widened. It was Seiji, however, who spoke as a sudden chill ran down his spine. "That aura is expanding! It's—heading our way!"

"Anubis," Saturn muttered as she rushed forward. Uranus grabbed her by the waist, pulling her back; the younger girl fought, digging her heels into the ground. "Let me go—"

"Listen to your parents for once!" Uranus snapped, adjusting her grip. With tremendous effort, she lifted Saturn off the ground, carrying her away from battle. Saturn continued to struggle; she managed to elbow Uranus, who dropped her.

Saturn took two steps forward before it seemed as if the world exploded. She froze as everyone took cover, shielding themselves from the burst of energy that spread across the vast lake and threatened to swallow them. It was only because of Mars's hindsight did she manage to pull the younger girl down as well. Mars held Saturn under her, ignoring the rush of cold energy that passed right over her head. After a moment, the cold energy passed.

"What the hell was that?" Shuu asked, sounding frantic as he scrambling to his feet. He held his tetsubo over his shoulder, his eyes scanning the area. Black crystals no longer jutted from the ground; instead, they scattered over the barren field, like tiny little flecks of light glimmering under the unseen sun. The youja soldiers were nowhere in sight. "What just happened?"

"Shuu!" Seiji roared, suddenly tacking the other Trooper to the ground. They rolled, Shuu trying to get a grasp on the situation. He glanced wildly around, staring at the spot he had been standing. The ground had been scorched black.

"What..."

"That energy," Mars said, getting to her knees with effort. "It's running rampant."

"Okay, really?" Shuu grumbled, rolling onto his front. "Energy running rampant? You're saying it's got a mind of its own."

"Unfortunately," Uranus said. She brushed off her skirt, getting to her feet; unlike Shuu, however, she kept her gaze trained on the surrounding area. "It's everywhere in the wind. I can't get a definite trace, but I feel it now."

"What do we do?" Jupiter accepted Ryo's help as he offered her his shoulder. She leaned against him, trying to even out her breathing. The battle was taking its definite toll; she didn't know how much longer she could last. Her eyes found Mars's, who seemed to be thinking exactly the same thing.

"We need to contain it," Seiji murmured, his eyes searching the sky. "It seems to be circling around without aim."

"The temple," Ryo said, swallowing. He found his throat to be dry. "Anubis..."

Seiji and Shuu momentarily looked startled before they turned their gazes to the destroyed temple. They were quiet for a moment, both wondering the same thing as Ryo.

"I'm sure he's fine," Uranus said, interrupting their thoughts. She ignored Ryo's frown, looking to Pluto. "How do we contain it?"

Contain it. It was as if they were magical words. Pluto felt her heart leap. It wasn't often she felt that sensation. "We can draw it back to the temple ruins," she said. "It will be drawn to where it came from. And from there I can lock it into a dimensional space."

Uranus looked too suspicious. The two Senshi stared at each other for a moment. And then Uranus nodded slowly. "Alright. Sounds like a plan. You guys good enough to teleport?"

Jupiter and Mars were already clasping hands.

The second they landed within the temple ruins, Saturn tore her hands from Uranus and Pluto. Her eyes spotted Anubis's still form and she darted over. Immediately she yanked the helmet from his head; there was a shard of black crystal sticking out of his throat, leaking blood.

Ryo and Seiji were right behind her, staring at Anubis's wound. Seiji gave a shout as Saturn wrapped her hand around the crystal and tugged it out; more blood poured out, but she pressed her glove to the wound and began to rapidly heal him.

"He's not dead," Ryo said, and then he repeated it. "He's not dead. Thank god."

He was interrupted as the cold energy suddenly came roaring at them. This was what Anubis had gone up again? While he didn't have a sixth sense, he could still feel evil—and this cold energy chilled him to the bone. Seiji grabbed Ryo and pulled him out of the way, but Saturn and Anubis were left wide open. Seiji again cursed himself for not thinking; why didn't he just create a barrier? He watched, in slow-motion, as the energy charged at them.

And then Jupiter jumped in the way. His breath caught in his throat as she threw an attach that pushed back most of the energy's force; it still collided into her, thought, and she was thrown aside. The energy rebounded, soaring back into the air. His eyes, however, followed Jupiter as she skidded to a stop. For a moment she seemed fine, if not a bit unsteady.

Then she collapsed, right into Uranus's arms. "Shit, Pluto—_now_—"

Pluto wordlessly strode into action. Guiding the powers of time and space to her whim was like breathing to her. It was natural and almost instinctual. But of course there was something she failed to mention. Sealing the energy into another dimension was useless; she was powerful, but energy in such a large and powerful mass would be able to knock down the doors and come soaring back. As Pluto held up the Time Staff, she locked gazes with Saturn.

And though they had never discussed it with each other—though Pluto hinted at it to Mars and Saturn confided only in Rajura—the two of them knew that this was what they had decided. Someone had to go with the energy into the other dimension in order to properly purify it—someone who knew darkness. It would have been impossible to Pluto to open and close the Time-Space Door while entering it. There was only one other person.

There was a gentle rip in the air. Seiji stared, awed, as a large, ornate door came into view. Its gates slowly creaked open; the energy crackled, intrigued by the sudden power. It slowly sidled in, curious. And then Saturn, holding her glaive in her hands, bolted forward.

"No!" Uranus suddenly roared, realizing what was happening. Saturn leapt into the air, right after the energy. "No, _Hotaru_—"

But before the mid-air door could close, there was a flash of light and Pluto felt someone _shove_ her. Her eyes barely caught sight of Rajura leaping and grabbing Saturn by the ankle, pulling her back. For a second, the Garnet Orb flashed—then Pluto stopped herself. The energy followed Saturn right out, pulsing wildly, as if it were angry at a lost opportunity.

With her concentration broken, the door disappeared. Pluto stared wordlessly at Neptune, who had been the one to push her. "You—"

"Submarine reflection!" Neptune called out, ignoring her and holding out the Deep Aqua Mirror. The cold energy was instantly attracted, more so than it had been to the door; it scrunched in the air, manifesting itself in a twisted ball, before it soared at the Mirror. Neptune gritted her teeth as the energy continued to disappear in its reflective surface. After a moment, the Mirror gleamed. Then its surface dulled and Neptune lowered her arm.

"Is it—is it over?" Shuu asked hesitantly. "It's—your Mirror's not gonna blow, is it?"

"Of course not," Neptune said briskly. She turned a dark look over to Pluto. Pluto met her gaze evenly. "Gather yourselves, we're going back to the Youjakai."

"Jupiter's out," Mars said, motioning to where Rajura was currently taking the unconscious Senshi from Uranus. Uranus was too busy staring at where Saturn stood, as if she still had not comprehended what had just happened. "Will we be able to teleport everyone?"

"You want to sit around and find out?"

It took a few minutes to get everything situated, but it was seconds before they were back in the Youjakai, on the outskirts of the palace. Night had fallen; the stars, Shuu thought faintly as he nursed his arm, seemed to be brighter than he ever remembered. Mars, beside him, swayed on her feet before she steadied herself. He sighed. "Oh come here, crow lady, let me give you a shoulder to lean on."

She gave him a flat stare. He simply threw his good arm around her and pulled her close; despite her initial struggles, Mars gave in and slung her arm over shoulder.

"You're welcome," Shuu grinned. Mars just rolled her eyes before she glanced around. Rajura, who was carrying Jupiter, paused in his steps when he realized no one else had moved. Beside them, on the floor, Pluto held Anubis's unconscious form in her lap. Seiji's face was blank as he stared up at the palace. Ryo, however, was watching the scene unfold.

Neptune took quick steps to Saturn and slapped her.

"Neptune—"

"You will _never_," Neptune said, interrupting Uranus's startled shout, "do that again."

"Neptune," Saturn said coldly, unfazed by the stinging of her cheek. "You know my duty."

"That is not your only duty!" Neptune suddenly cried out, desperation edging onto her face as she grabbed Saturn by the shoulders. This was not something that Neptune did. Neptune was unfaltering confidence, smooth words and cool looks. Desperation was odd on her and just as uncomfortable for Saturn to see. "You are not destined to continually die, Hotaru! The second you woke up as Sailor Saturn, you swore an oath to the prince and princess—"

"And if I have to give up my life—"

"_You don't have to_!" There were tears in Neptune's eyes, tears that Saturn was so unaccustomed to seeing. "If there is the smallest chance that we can defeat them without your sacrifice, then you have to believe in it."

"I can't risk it," Saturn said, though she was carefully watching the ways Neptune was breaking down. "If the fate of the world is in balance, then I can't risk it."

"You are not responsible for that, we all are," Neptune said, her voice lowering. Her deep blue eyes searched Saturn's. "We _all_ have to protect this world, protect the future. Your life is needed, not your _death_."

And she finally looked away, holding a fist to her lip as she tried not to keep yelling. Saturn let a low sigh escape her lips as she glance over Neptune's shoulder to make eye contact with Pluto. The crimson-eyed warrior was still on her knees with Anubis's still form in her lap. Her staff was on the floor, the Garnet Orb gleaming coldly under the reappearing sun. The corner of Pluto's lips tipped up, just the slightest—a sad apologetic smile, so characteristic of her.

And beside her was Ryo, staring at Saturn through unruly bangs, barely blinking, as if he were afraid that she would disappear any second.

"I understand," Saturn said quietly. Neptune's gaze shot back to her hopefully.

"Hotaru," Uranus said, finally deciding to speak. She looked unsure of what to do or say or feel. It seemed that speaking the younger Senshi's name was enough; Saturn bit her lip and glanced away, suddenly looking like the teenage girl she was.

"We can finish this later," Rajura interrupted, continuing to make his way into the palace. He shifted Jupiter in his arms. "Everyone has questions and you have answers."

Slowly, the group filed after him. Uranus helped Seiji lift Anubis onto his shoulders. She paused for a moment before touching Saturn's arm. Then she hurried after Neptune.

Saturn trailed behind before she let her transformation fade away. Ripped stockings and school uniform, she thought as she gripped her henshin pen. This was her, Hotaru—but at the same time she was still the cold soldier meant to end wars. She had thought that she had come to terms with who she was long ago, but Neptune's words, Uranus's speechless stare...

"I suppose I'll face Michiru's wrath later," Setsuna said. She clutched her own henshin pen in her hands.

"I'm surprised it wasn't Haruka-papa," Hotaru replied.

"Perhaps it would have been, three years ago." Setsuna sighed. "Peace is a strange thing."

"Strange?"

"It makes us reckless to protect what we want to keep safe."

"You were about to stop time," Hotaru said after a moment, watching her adoptive mother's gaze lower. "Before she used the Mirror. You were going to stop time and take my spot. That's the only way you would have been able to seal the doors yourself."

"I would have done it," Setsuna confessed. "I never wanted for you to follow me into death."

"Setsuna..."

"We had rings," Setsuna said. Hotaru looked surprised at the change of subject. Setsuna continued on. "A set of matching rings, a promise to look over you. Even then, we would have stepped aside and let you use your power. But I think now—we've been accustomed to living as a family."

"I know." Hotaru sighed. "I almost didn't want to do it."

"The two of us, we make quite a pair, don't we?" Setsuna mused. She sighed, shaking her head. "Perhaps we should let go of our duties to Selenity."

Setsuna was smiling, but Hotaru knew there was no joke.

"Let's go."

"You go. I need to catch my breath," Hotaru said quietly, looking up at the stars.

Setsuna nodded before she turned and left. On her way in, she passed by Ryo. He held her stare as she said to him, "Don't take long."

Ryo watched her go before he turned his gaze back to Hotaru. He wasn't even sure of what he wanted to say. From what he gathered, she and Setsuna had been planning to—what, sacrifice themselves? What could he say to that? He was beyond upset, but anything he said would probably be overshadowed by Sailor Neptune's words. He barely knew her. What right did he really have? In the midst of his thought, he found himself approaching her.

The two stood side-by-side, quiet. It was Hotaru who spoke first, and the words were not what he had expected. "We should go. They're waiting."

She turned to leave. Ryo grabbed her hand. "Don't."

"Ryo—"

"Don't pretend like you didn't almost just kill yourself."

"You don't understand."

"No, I don't," Ryo said, trying to keep his voice from rising. "But that still doesn't mean you can make decisions like that."

"Funny," Hotaru mumbled before she could stop herself, "when I made that decision a thousand years ago, no one really cared."

Silence. Ryo felt his anger halt for a moment. He barely knew her, he reminded himself. He knew nothing of what she had gone through. But did that really matter? Hotaru herself didn't even mean what she said; a thousand years ago, that had been the only choice. Michiru was right; why was she so ready to throw her life away for a beam of energy that could be sucked up by the Mirror?

"Hotaru, this is now. And you have people who care about you."

"Then I should be able to protect them," Hotaru said simply. "I should be able to protect _you_."

"You don't have to protect me."

"We had Anubis go after the energy source because of his affinity with darkness," Hotaru continued. "That kind of energy could have only been destroyed by its own kind—by Anubis's power, or Pluto's, or mine. Jupiter's only alive because she threw off a majority of its force before it tried to consume her. That's what darkness does, Ryo—it consumes."

"So does fire," Ryo said automatically before his could stop himself. He immediately regretted it as Hotaru rolled her eyes.

"You're not getting the point," she said with a pout. She was acting like a downright child, she knew, but in light of the preceding events, she didn't really care.

"I don't think you are either," Ryo said. "You saw how Michiru-san was so upset."

Hotaru stubbornly refused to look at him. He tried again.

"What if I tried to do what you did?"

"It's not the same. I have a thousand-year-old duty to—"

"It's the same!" Ryo burst out, startling her into meeting his gaze. It was as if he embodied the very power he had control over; his eyes were as blue as the base of a flame, blazing at her soul. "It's exactly the same, Hotaru. I've lost people I've cared about before, and I'm not about to lose you too. I'm sure this duty is important to you, but you need to realize that you are important to other people. So try and get where I'm coming from and promise me that you don't do it again!"

"I can't promise that!"

"Then _try_."

Hotaru let out an exasperated sigh as she glanced up at the sky. "Why are you so stubborn?"

"Why are _you_?" Ryo retorted. He watched as she closed her eyes for a moment, her face still turned upwards. Then she let out another sigh, her fingers curling back around his.

"I had a friend," she said quietly. "She stopped me from sacrificing my life before."

Ryo stayed quiet, but his grip on her hand tightened. Hotaru finally looked at him again, the corner of her lip quirking up.

"Sort of makes me think that friends are kind of troublesome."

"You don't mean that," Ryo said, holding her gaze. "You don't mean that at all."

Hotaru tilted her head, the ghost of a smile disappearing. Maybe it was time to let go of their duty to Selenity. She searched those fiery eyes for a moment; he wondered if she knew how tired her gaze was. When she spoke again, her voice was soft. "I can't promise, though."

And for some reason, this time, it was good enough for Ryo.

* * *

**an** just a fair warning, i haven't really given this a thorough read-through before posting -.- haha bad writer habit but i wanted to just update! and, wellllll this certainly took off in a direction i did not mean for it to. i had actually intended for plenty of fun and games and like zero percent melodrama but then this happened and i didn't think i wanted to put off updating. so! i apologize if it's choppy or sudden in some parts.

jeez as this fic progresses, it's getting harder for me to write the senshi -.-; especially usagi.

hm idk i think i'll comment on pairings at this point. i do have it figured out, but then the possibilities are just so endless that i can't not play around with them! like has anyone ever seen shuuxrei? or seijixami? bc if so, point me in that direction, please. that is all.

thank you for reading! i hope you enjoy! xo


	15. Chapter 14

**fourteen**

"I still can't believe we fell for that trap," Shuu said for the tenth time. He massaged his neck as he stared up at the ceiling. While his very posture declared that he was indifferent, his thoughts were a turbulent whirlwind. It was the combined effects of Anubis almost dying and Badamon escaping. That, and he still didn't understand what Hotaru and Setsuna had been trying to do.

Beside him, Seiji sighed. "Trap as it was, we managed to hinder him, didn't we?"

"Hinder him?" Shuten glanced around the table at all the members who had gone to Elysion. Makoto was still out of commission, as well as Anubis; Naaza, Rajura and Kayura were watching over them. Hotaru and Haruka had politely excused themselves from the meeting, saying something about a Talk. "Hinder him from what? Destroying you?"

Everyone waited for Seiji to explain. For a moment he seemed to struggle with an answer; his violet eyes, looking unusually troubled, fell on the wall opposite him. "That tomb. Arago was in it."

"_What_?" Ryo said. He stood up, knocking his chair back as he stared daggers at Seiji. "You only tell us this _now_?"

"You've got to be kidding," Shuu said as he sat up. "There's no way, Arago's _dead_."

"It was his body," Seiji said as he reluctantly met Ryo's gaze. "I can only assume Badamon is trying to resurrect him."

"We can't just sit around," Ryo said frantically. He turned to Touma, whose expression had frozen into apprehension. The blue-haired genius took a moment before he shook his head.

"We don't know what any of this means."

"Touma—"

"I'm as anxious as you are," Touma interrupted before Ryo could say something he didn't mean. "Trust me. But it was an obvious trap the last time we blindly went into Elysion. We can't afford to make the same mistake."

"Besides," Shuten added, "what do you plan to do? Rush back and try to fight? You're still injured, if you had forgotten."

"What do you want us to do, then? Sit around and talk about it?" Ryo raked a hand through his already wild hair, barely giving himself a second to catch his breath. He straightened out his chair and flopped back down. "We have to do _something_."

"Ryo's right," Shin mumbled reluctantly. "I don't mean we should go and confront him head on. Just—we need to figure things out before it's too late."

"It might be too late already," Ryo tried to argue, but Shuten rolled his eyes.

"If that were the case, why are we still alive?"

"How can you be so calm? Arago—"

"I know Arago," Shuten cut in. For a moment his gaze was cold. "I know him more than you do."

Ryo clamped his mouth shut. He looked the very part of a scolded child as he averted his gaze to the tabletop. "Sorry. I just—it's Arago."

"He has a body to go back to?" Michiru asked, cutting through the tension. For a moment the Troopers looked surprised, as if they had forgotten that a few of the Sailor Senshi were present. Then Touma's expression became unsettled as he shared an uneasy glance with Seiji.

"We don't know," Shin decided to answer quietly.

"You don't know?" One eyebrow arched up primly. This look was enough to have him almost ashamed.

"It's—his body just sort of crumbled," Shin said. He didn't have to try to remember the details; that moment had was crystal clear to him.

"So he doesn't have a body," Michiru said. The other eyebrow rose as no one answered. "May I ask what the hesitation is for?"

"Arago's body was in that tomb," Seiji said, his voice coming out lower than he imagined. "This isn't something that I can imagine."

"If you're suggesting that Arago was never defeated, then you can erase the thought completely," Shuten added. Try as he might, he couldn't bring himself to trust Sailor Neptune. He knew what kind of person she was; Rajura was the same type. They were seemingly aloof, but in reality the two of them picked up on finer details that no one else would have noticed. It was almost as if everyone's emotions were out on display for them to pick at. And in return there was so much that Shuten was unable to read from her.

Michiru, oblivious to his inner musings of her, was ever as composed. "I never said such a thing. I'm as confused as you all are, and I just wanted to bring up another possibility."

"That it _wasn't_ Arago?" Seiji might have looked offended if it weren't obvious that he was unnerved. "It was him. There's no other that could give off such an aura."

"I don't buy it," Minako said quietly, more to herself. All eyes, however, suddenly turned to her. Oh, she thought, maybe she should rethink what her quiet voice was.

"What do you mean?" Shin asked. He looked as if he were unsure if he wanted to hear what she thought; the idea of Arago returned was already monumental. Minako puckered her lips to the side, wondering if she should spill the beans.

"Minako-chan?" Ami prompted curiously.

"Well," Minako said slowly, running the theory through her mind. Really, this wasn't her area of expertise. Planning, acting, that was what she did. Theorizing was more Ami and Rei's domain. "You guys said Arago controlled Badamon and treated him like crap. Why would he want to resurrect the guy who made his life hell?"

"Why do any of our enemies do anything?" Shuu quipped rhetorically.

"I don't know, Aino," Touma said. A thoughtful look came across his features. "Badamon wanted the world. If he managed to resurrect him—with Ryo and Makoto as energy sources—then Arago would be able to make it happen. That was their initial agreement, right Shuten?"

"Something like that," Shuten answered. "Of course, Arago would never hand over the world to a creature Badamon."

"That's good and all, Touma, but, I dunno, maybe he just wants more zombies." Minako didn't even register that Shuten looked terribly confused and had to ask Rei what a zombie was. "You said it yourself, didn't you, Rei? That tomb had a vast amount of energy. What if he's just sucking the body dry?"

"It could have been the energy that Badamon was pumping into him," Seiji countered.

"Funny, I had thought you were too busy choking to do anything else but sputter," Rei said. She ignored his incredulous look (despite the discussion, Shuu and Shuten both managed to look slightly amused) and turned to Minako. "You might have a point, though."

"Really?" Touma looked doubtful. Ami, however, ran a hand through her hair. This was not a time for should-haves, even though she knew she should have gone with them. She glanced at the map, still sprawled over the table.

"If I may add another theory," she said, drawing everyone's attention. She bit the inside of her cheek before she continued. "I analyzed the bit of crystal shards you brought back."

"What is it?" Michiru watched as Ami took in a deep breath.

"Well," Ami said hesitantly before she plowed on. "I'm not sure if it's another ploy by this Badamon in order to shake our nerves, because none of you have seemed to notice anything odd. The crystals resonate with the same energy of the Black Moon Clan."

"What," Minako said. This time it was she who stood up. She turned her gaze sharply to Setsuna. "Did you know this?"

"No," Setsuna said, bothered by the information. She, out of all of them, _knew_ the Black Moon Clan. How was it, then, that she could not recognize or feel their energy? In Elysion, it had been entirely unfamiliar. The black crystals had been a dead giveaway. "Perhaps Badamon had clouded it?"

"Or perhaps you had other things on your mind, Setsuna," Michiru said with a smile. To the rest of the room, the smile was kind and understanding. To Setsuna, however, that smile said 'You Are a Completely Horrible Mother and I Will Never Ever Forgive You.' She tried not to grimace, knowing that Michiru had every right to be angry. She just wondered how long that would be for. Thankfully she was relieved from replying when the door to the room opened.

Usagi, supporting Makoto (the sight would have made everyone laugh if it hadn't been for the circumstances), slinked into the room. "Hey, what'd we miss?"

"Apparently a lot," Ryo said, his expression still distressed. They had dismissed the Black Moon Clan earlier in their battles, but now apparently they were a real threat. What did any of this _mean_?

"A lot?" Usagi blinked, sitting down in the nearest open seat. Makoto flopped down next to her, grimacing a bit and favoring her side.

"You don't look so great," Minako said fondly to Makoto, who waved her comment away.

"Debrief us, oh fearless leader."

"Don't mock me," Minako sniped. Her smile fell as she spoke again. "Ami thinks it's the real Black Moon Clan. Seiji thinks Badamon is trying to bring his dead boss back to life, but I'm more convinced he wants a legion of zombies."

"Can you knock me out again?" Makoto muttered to Shin, who gave her a sympathetic smile. Usagi, however, paled.

"The Black Moon Clan? I thought we—I thought that they—wasn't it just a—"

"She said it was just a theory," Makoto said quickly, seeing as Usagi was about to panic. Not for the first time, she wondered about her friend's inability to properly come to terms with closure concerning their enemies. "Either way, we took 'em down once, we can do it again, right?"

Usagi didn't answer. She did, however, try to smile at the words. The Senshi saw right through it.

"Usagi, it's not anything definite," Ami tried to reassure her. "For all we know, it could be the same case as Saphir and Demand. Someone is controlling things to make us think it's the Black Moon Clan."

"Yeah," Usagi said unconvincingly, shifting in her seat. The thought of Demand made her stomach twist. She tried to push the thought away as she made eye contact with Ryo. He looked just as worried as she felt, which was saying a lot as Usagi wanted nothing more than to wake up from this nightmare where old enemies were coming back and her friends were almost dying trying to stop them.

"Whatever happened to a good old fashioned duel?" Shuu tried to lighten up the situation. "All this sneaking around is making me antsy."

"Hear, hear," Makoto said. She sighed, rubbing her sore side. Naaza had done the best he could with her physical wounds; once they realized the state Anubis was in, she declined further treatment. Apparently the damage he had received from that massive cloud of energy was direr than they had thought.

"There's still the idea that Badamon is bringing Arago back," Touma said quietly, bringing everyone's attention back to the original matter at hand.

"It's gotta be something else," Minako said, unconvinced. She turned to Ami, trying to get her on her side. "Like—like say Kunzite was alive again. Would he really focus this much on trying to bring Beryl back?"

"That's," Ami said, faltering the slightest. "It's a different situation, Minako, Kunzite was—"

"I'm just saying," Minako defended herself, knowing exactly was Kunzite 'was'. "Kunzite didn't like Beryl, and apparently this Badamon guy didn't like Arago."

"He _is_ stronger than before," Ryo said, catching the slight look in Seiji's eye. "What would he need Arago for? She could be on to something."

"There was a massive amount of energy in that tomb." Seiji knew that, of course, there were always several possibilities to one problem. But this he was sure of. He had recognized it at once, the energy that Badamon was filling into Arago's body. "It felt just like him."

"Forgive me if I don't exactly trust what you _felt_," Rei snapped. Everyone turned astonished eyes at her. It wasn't new to hear Rei grumble something. It was just the way she said it, as if she really meant every biting word. Michiru looked particularly interested as she watched the expression on Seiji's face change. Guilt.

"I apologize, just as I have before," Seiji said, at his limits with this girl. "It was my mistake—"

"And I could have died," Rei said bluntly, not even trying to spare his feelings. She flicked her hair over her shoulder, openly challenging him to protest. Instead he looked away, clenching his hands.

"Did we miss something?" Shin asked. He almost didn't want an answer when Rei crossed her arms, eyebrows raised. Seiji let out a defeated sigh.

"When I saw that it was Arago in the tomb, I had frozen. And Hino was hit by Badamon as a result."

"...is that it?" Makoto looked incredibly perplexed. She blinked, sharing a bewildered look with Minako. "I don't get it. If I had done something like that—"

"Have you ever made that mistake, Mako-chan?" Rei gave her a pointed look. She looked almost flustered.

"Well, no, but—"

"Then you don't really know what I'd do if something like that happened."

Minako stared at her friend uncertainly. There had to be something more than she was letting on. Rei was stubborn, but she wasn't heartless. She was also stronger than that; she wouldn't be so petty over such a small thing. In fact, she would have been proud of her battle scar. Before Minako could enquire further, Ami spoke up.

"Maybe Shuu is right," she said, as if Rei had not just been incredibly unreasonable. This was not a time to be polite or figure out person problems. Shuu turned to her blankly.

"I am?"

"Yes," Ami replied without hesitation. He started grinning as Shin rolled his eyes.

"Alright, cool. So, what has my genius led you to?"

"Well," Ami said, and she smiled a bit at his enthusiasm. "Just that perhaps an old-fashioned duel would be the best thing to do."

"Really?" Shuu looked almost proud of himself. "Like, no joke? You really think we should just call him out?"

"We're getting nowhere by speculating," Ami said, noticing that Touma Did Not Like the Idea At All. He didn't hesitate to voice that opinion.

"We can't just walk into a trap like last time."

"I understand that, Hashiba, but what other choice do we have?"

"We need to figure out what we really want to do."

"So then what do you suggest?" Ami hadn't meant it, but a smidge of impatience had wormed its way into her words. He was Touma, and he was brilliant, but he was being stubborn. Touma was slightly taken aback at her attitude, but he didn't back down.

"We need to figure out more about these talismans, as Rajura suggested earlier. This Black Moon Clan is really clouding your guys' judgment—"

"And I suppose the prospect of Arago returning isn't clouding yours?"

"Mizuno, you don't know what Arago did," Touma said. He had expected her to be the rational one; for her to just agree with an off-hand comment Shuu made to lighten the mood...

"I _don't_ know what Arago did," Ami countered, "just as you do not know what the Black Moon Clan—"

"Guys, let's—let's try to get along," Usagi said weakly, holding her hands up. She seemed clueless as to what else to say; this was Ami—_Ami_, not Rei or Minako—openly arguing with someone—and not just someone, but _Touma_. It was as if someone her whole world had flipped upside-down. Both blue-heads snapped to her.

"We _are_ getting along," Touma said, just as Ami replied, "I'm doing the best I can, Usagi."

_What_, Minako thought as she and Ryo shared baffled looks, the hell just happened? Her Senshi were cracking. Her instincts had been right; this whole team-up thing hadn't been a good idea at all. They were too far in, though, to pull back. It seemed like only Makoto and Usagi were handling the pressure well. "Shuten," she said, determined to change the subject. "What do you think?"

Shuten met her gaze. His knowledge of the Sailor Senshi extended mostly to Pluto and her close comrades; she was, after all, guardian of the Youjakai. These other ones—the Guardian Senshi—they were nothing at all what he had expected, in the same way that the Samurai Troopers had surprised him. "I don't understand why we can't do both."

"No," Ryo said suddenly. He looked almost defiant. "No splitting up anymore. That didn't do us good last time."

"Very well," Shuten said, conceding. "Then I will side with Sailor Mercury."

Touma's lips drew thin, but he said nothing. Beside him, Shin sighed. "And say it is a trap?"

"Then we get out of it," Makoto said. Again Touma looked like he wanted to argue; he wisely kept silent (if anything, it was the possibility of Makoto punching him that shut his mouth). "Trust me, we're pretty good at that."

"Alright, it's settled then," Ryo said before anyone else could raise any other objections. He could easily see that Seiji disagreed completely with the decision. "We'll run this by Kayura. Michiru, Setsuna, you guys okay with it?"

"Of course," Michiru said. Setsuna managed a nod, her thoughts still wandering to the Black Moon Clan. There was no probable way they could be back. Even if the odds had been stacked against them and they _had_ found a way to come back to life, then why would they attack? From what she recalled, Demand had reformed. Saphir had died before he had the chance to. Esmeraude would do nothing to put her in bad favor with Demand, and Rubeus was loyal to him.

No one, to her knowledge, had been able to sneak past her to turn back the hands of time. That would be the only way—to resurrect the Black Moon Clan before they realized their loyalties to Wiseman had been part of a ploy.

"Usagi, would you mind telling the others?" Minako asked.

"Sure thing," Usagi said, bounding to her feet. They watched as the door closed behind her; Minako immediately turned to the Troopers.

"As far as I'm concerned, the Black Moon Clan is just another tally in my book of enemies. For her, though, it's a little more."

"How so?" Shin questioned. It was Ami who answered.

"They destroyed the future," she spoke, her voice soft. "We witnessed the aftermath, briefly. And while all of our enemies threaten _us_, this one—they threatened what we work so hard towards, if that makes any sense."

"I understand," Shuten said. "You put so much energy into carving a peaceful path to the future, and they were the ones to ruin it so effortlessly."

"But we're not sure if it's them," Ryo said. "We're not sure of anything."

"Are we ever?" Shuu grumbled. For a moment, Ami faltered again; he was absolutely right. How many times had her efforts been completely educated guesses? There were nights, sometimes, where she was haunted by what-if-I-had-been-wrongs, but those were few. Still, for him to just put the thought out like that...

"Either way," Makoto concluded, "this sucks. If it's not Arago, it's the Black Moon Clan."

"Whoever it is, we'll just kick their asses," Minako said. She, too, looked absolutely worried, but not for the same reason as her comrades. She had meant what she had said earlier. The Black Moon Clan, the Death Busters, whoever it was, she didn't discriminate. An enemy was an enemy was an enemy. What worried her, however, was that Setsuna and Michiru were at ends with each other, Rei was unexplainably in A Mood, and Ami was cracking under the stress.

The Samurai Troopers, she also saw, were losing faith.

"We'll kick their asses," Shin repeated. He met her startled gaze with a soft smile. "Somehow, when you say that, I believe you."

Oh no, Minako thought. Oh absolutely no. Sure, she had been trying to get the boy to respond to her ridiculously forward advances, but that had been for fun. For play. For the sake of Minako being Minako. She grinned feebly, trying to stop her heart from beating so fast at his cute little face. Focus, girl, she thought, you know better, get your mind back in the game.

Fortunately, Michiru stood up. "I suppose if we've decided, then I can take a moment to rest?"

"I'll show you to a spare room," Shuten murmured.

"Setsuna, care to join me?"

Setsuna was usually more eloquent, but all her mind could think as she smiled and nodded was, _crap there is nowhere to run._

Soon, the rest of them decided to follow her lead. Ami mentioned something about finding relief in the gardens, and Makoto eagerly agreed to accompany her. She invited the Troopers along; three of them were keen to the idea as well. Touma, however, said something about talking to Kayura.

"Hey." Minako grabbed Rei's hand and pulled her back. Everyone else filed out of the room; Ryo gave them both a curious glance before he left them alone. He had his own friend to confront.

The priestess looked hassled as she pulled her hand away. "What?"

"Are you okay?" Minako frowned when Rei rolled her eyes. "Seriously, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong."

"So what's with the temper tantrum?" Minako tilted her head, studying the emotions playing off her friend's face. "Really, I thought _I_ was the one that didn't trust them."

"It's not that, Minako. It's..."

"Yeah?"

"I don't know," Rei finally confessed. Minako stared.

"Okay, well," she said, at a loss of what to say. She tried to remember the last time Rei admitted that she didn't know. Then she realized it had never happened before; the priestess would rather eat Usagi's hair. "Did you see something in the fire?"

"No," Rei said almost too quickly. She covered it up with a sigh. "No, it's nothing like that. It's—I just don't like it."

"It," Minako repeated.

"Him," Rei corrected.

"Him?"

"Will you stop repeating what I say?" Rei was scowling again. Minako furrowed her brow.

"You mean Seiji?" she asked. Rei gave her the flattest of stares.

"Who else?"

"Well," Minako said uncertainly. She wasn't sure if she should say what she wanted to. Her heart won against her brain and she spit it out. "I just thought you'd know better than to act like a twelve-year-old."

"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that," Rei said in the voice that clearly said that if Minako pressed the subject, she was going to kick her. Minako, of course, didn't care.

"Look, Rei, I don't know why you're treating him any different from any other worthless guy undeserving of your fabulous time, but I need you to get over it."

Instead of looking upset, as Minako thought she would, Rei actually looked slightly impressed. "You sound like me."

"Rei—"

"Okay, I get it." Rei sighed. "You don't have to lecture me."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

Because Rei knew exactly why she was being childish. For once, she had found someone that might have understood. Michiru had been closest person so far, but her sixth sense was attributed mainly to the Mirror and the sea. She didn't know what it was like to be able to innately feel evil before seeing it. Seiji, however, knew exactly these things.

"I'm sure," Rei repeated. The second she had let her guard down, though, he had disappointed her. She was used to disappointment, though, especially coming from men. Though the situation was different (this was the fate of three worlds, after all), she made the same vow she always did—she wouldn't let herself fall for the same thing twice.

"Good," Minako said, oblivious to the internal struggle. She looped her arm in Rei's, grinning. "'cause we got ass to kick."

x

"Is she really mad?"

"It's the hormones," Haruka said, but Hotaru only gave her a dry look. "I was just trying to spare your feelings! Yeah, she's mad."

Hotaru sighed. The two of them were in the palace infirmary, watching as Naaza worked on healing Anubis. Kayura lingered over his shoulder, asking him questions about Anubis's condition. Rajura lurked behind them, sitting atop a stool. "It's really that bad?"

"Listen," Haruka said. "You know I'm not the greatest at this expressive thing. But hear me out."

Hotaru looked up at her adoptive papa-figure. One didn't usually pick favorites when it came to parents. Hotaru never tried to. The three of them supported her in their own ways; Michiru was the most motherly, Setsuna was the most understanding, and Haruka was the most... Present. Hotaru had looked up to her the most before she had reawakened as Saturn; after that, the teenage years consisted of sneaking out for illegal driving lessons and late-night ice cream.

"All of us... Me, Setsuna and Michiru. We're, you know... We have warrior instincts. And we tried to rear it in when we decided to raise you. Actually," here Haruka lifted her eyes to the ceiling, recalling incidents when Hotaru was a child, "we called it a mission every time we had to change your diaper."

"You _would_ do that," Hotaru said affectionately. Haruka reached out, slinging her arm around her shoulder.

"Point is, we weren't that great at it, I guess. Hiding the warrior instinct. And maybe you picked some of it up. This whole duty thing, I know we're really gung-ho sometimes, but..."

"But it's time to let go of the Silver Millenium?" Hotaru supplied. Haruka blinked, looking down at her.

"Yeah, took the words right out of my mouth."

"You and Michiru have talked about this before, haven't you?"

"Yeah," Haruka replied. "Plenty of times. Mostly right after we got you. I guess maybe we should have included you and Setsuna in our talks."

"Maybe," Hotaru said, leaning into Haruka's half-embrace. "You guys aren't bad parents."

"What?"

"You guys aren't bad parents," Hotaru repeated. She smiled slightly. "Better than my last ones, anyway."

Haruka never knew how to respond to situations like these. For a second she wished that Michiru were there; then she remembered that an angry Michiru was incredibly frightening.

"I can't speak for Setsuna-mama, but I'll try."

"Good. Because Usagi would have a fit if you two actually went through with anything."

The two fell quiet, watching as Anubis suddenly choked for air. Rajura quickly intensified his power on Anubis, creating a more soothing vision for him. Kayura clutched Naaza's shoulder. "What is it? Naaza, what's going on?"

"Shut up and let me work," Naaza snapped for the first time at Kayura. She immediately stepped back, eyes wide. Naaza's hands were moving too fast for her to comprehend. "He's poisoned."

"You are the Doku Masho, surely you can—"

"Didn't I say shut up?"

Kayura didn't have time to be offended; she snapped her mouth closed, kneeling beside Anubis on the other side of the bed. Anubis had stopped gasping for air, slumping back to the bed. His eyes closed again.

"It's nothing I've ever seen before," Naaza muttered more to himself. "I've given him the most powerful antidote I have, but at best it just seems to be stalling the progress of the poison. What happened?"

"Dark energy," Haruka said. "He went to destroy a crystal and unleashed a dark energy."

"This is not Badamon's work," Naaza continued. "I know Badamon's work. This isn't it."

"Whatever it is, he is incredibly restless," Rajura said. His power over illusions could sedate Anubis for the time being, but it was what he had to suppress that concerned Rajura. Anubis's mind was writhing in an abyss, dreaming of his life when he had served under Arago. Rajura saw images of noblemen who had died—saw spirits become trapped as youja soldiers—saw Tomoe Gozen fall into Anubis's arms with a blade in her neck. He saw Shuten being pursued by _them_, saw the shame Anubis felt when they realized their folly. Rajura saw all of this cycle around, intensifying with each round.

He amped up his power, just a notch.

"We need to cure him," Kayura said. "We need to do something. Hotaru—"

"I tried," Hotaru replied, a frown creasing her brow. "The most it did was heal his physical wounds."

"Is he—" Kayura bit her lip. Naaza met her eyes. "Naaza, is he dying?"

There was silence. Naaza had never been this delicate, ever. But something, for some reason, was telling him that maybe he _cared_ if Anubis was dying. Which, of course, was ridiculous; the two pummeled each other every day, trying to kill each other. If Anubis was dead, then that meant he could finally be leader. But as the thought crossed his mind, he felt—what, guilty? He watched as Kayura's eyes hardened.

"Naaza, answer me."

"He's dying," Naaza said flatly. He briefly caught sight of Rajura frowning as Kayura sucked in a deep breath. Haruka, who had known Anubis for only a day, ran a hand through her hair uncomfortably.

"He is not _dying_," Hotaru murmured, kneeling beside Naaza. "There has to be something you can do."

Naaza narrowed his eyes but said nothing. He did have a theory, stemming from Haruka had said earlier. Anubis had been the one to take on the energy because darkness could draw out darkness, so perhaps poison could draw out poison—but it was something he didn't want to test, not with Anubis's life on the line. Then he paused—there it was again, this idea that maybe he worried about Anubis.

"Stupid," he muttered. He made up his mind. "Rajura, stop the illusion."

In any other situation, Rajura might have put his fist in Naaza's face for trying to order him around. Seeing the film of sweat on Naaza's forehead, forever, Rajura did as he was told. At once Anubis's limbs started thrashing; Kayura reached forward abruptly, locking one of his arms down with much effort. "If you have a plan," she said through gritted teeth as Haruka took the other arm, "then now would be a good time."

Naaza ran a tongue over the top of his teeth. Then, "Ja ga ken!"

"What are you _doing_?!" Kayura almost shrieked, but Naaza ignored her, focusing. He had always practiced in concentrating his poison, but he never had to use that particular skill before. In battle, anyone and everyone was prey; those who were foolish enough to get crossed in his way would be subjected to his cloud of poison.

But this situation was entirely different. He blocked everyone out of his mind, effectively ignoring Kayura's bewildered looks and Rajura's lifted eyebrow. He could see his poison, envision it as a string; he guided its path to Anubis and only Anubis—into his mouth, combining with his breath.

Then the poison was lost in him. Naaza closed his eyes, forming the mental image of the human anatomy in his mind. He could still feel where his healing powers were, being thwarted by the energy from the black crystal. It was faint, but he could feel it. Slowly he urged his own poison to travel the same way, filtering it through Anubis's blood and letting it be carried to the foreign energy.

And then there was resistance. He felt that strongly, and it almost threw him back. He would be damned, though, if he let something get the best of his poison. His healing powers were one thing, but he was the Doku Masho. Naaza let his poison plow forward, breaking down the barrier the foreign energy was projecting.

Naaza's poison wrapped around the foreign energy; it argued for a moment, putting up a fight. Naaza poured in a bit more of his will and his poison suffocated it, giving it no room to move. It was stifled now. He opened his eyes, unaware that his breathing was heavy with the effort. "Get ready," he said, and he tore the poison from Anubis's body the only way he knew how—he let it rip through Anubis's chest.

The dark energy was writhing as it shot to the ceiling. It bounced off, heading straight towards them; at once Hotaru swung out her glaive and created a barrier. Kayura moved her hands to press against a still Anubis's chest, which had started bleeding.

"Let me guess," Rajura said, watching as the energy—still wrapped in Naaza's poison, which suddenly seemed out of his control—rammed against the barrier. "You didn't think it through this far."

"Shut up," Naaza said, still trying to regain his breath. "It's one thing to confine it when it's already pressed in such a small space."

"You're saying your poison is too weak to keep binding it."

"Shut up," Naaza repeated with a snarl.

"As fun as it is listening to you two woo each other," Haruka said, her Space Sword out and ready, "I'd rather you concentrate on trying to stop this thing."

"Michiru," Hotaru said, flinching as the energy slammed into her Silent Wall again. "The Mirror—"

"Which one of us is fast enough to outrun a psychotic ball of energy?" Haruka mused. She looked pointedly at Naaza. "I vote not you."

Before Naaza could retort, the door to the infirmary slid open. Usagi stepped in, her face all smiles; that expression quickly dropped once she saw the cloud of energy floating in the air. "What—"

"Usagi!" Haruka shouted, ready to take a step out of the barrier. It was too late; the energy turned from them and charged relentlessly at Usagi. "_No_—"

Usagi threw her arms up, as if she could block the attack. It barreled right into her and a flash of light filled the room, blinding them from the scene. Haruka didn't even care anymore; she flew out of the barrier, her feet carrying her to Usagi at an alarming speed.

Then the light died down and she stopped right in her tracks, her eyes wide. Usagi, after a moment, peered from behind her arms before she dropped them completely with a sigh of relief. Without even knowing it, the Ginzuishou had floated from her brooch and shielded her from any harm. Even more, the energy was now floating listlessly, swirling around her.

It was odd of Haruka to think it, but the energy seemed to have morphed. It no longer looked or felt threatening. She glanced over her shoulder to see Hotaru put her glaive away. Rajura was staring at the crystal with a calculating eye, but when he met her gaze he spoke. "That is the legendary Ginzuishou?"

"Y—yeah," Usagi stuttered, for a moment intimidated by the man and his one eye. She swallowed, grabbing the crystal. The energy disappeared in a shatter of dust and she squealed as it showered her with flakes of light. Then the lights disappeared and the Ginzuishou fell dormant back in her brooch. "What was that?"

"The energy that was powering the youja soldiers in Elysion," Hotaru explained. Her hands were on Anubis's chest, healing the wound that the energy had escaped from. "Thank goodness you made it, Usagi-san."

Usagi still looked terribly confused as to what happened. "I thought Michiru had absorbed it in her mirror."

"She did. This came from him." Haruka nodded her head at Anubis, whose breath had started becoming more even. Kayura wiped his brow before standing up and allowing Hotaru to heal in peace. The Empress watched as Usagi scratched her elbow nervously.

"If I may ask," Rajura said politely, "did the Ginzuishou act on its own?"

"Sometimes it does that," Usagi said sheepishly. "Saved my life a bunch of times."

"Hmm," Rajura replied. Kayura, however, decided to be more specific.

"You were able to purify that energy?"

Usagi blinked a few times. She glanced at her brooch before nodding. "I guess so."

"It wasn't purified," Naaza spoke up, getting to his feet. In a few long strides, he was in front of Usagi. He leaned over, peering at the brooch. Usagi flushed as she took a step back.

"Naaza," Rajura said with exasperation as Haruka debated whether or not to punch him, "get your face out of her chest."

"Shut up," Naaza replied. He was really starting to make that into a catchphrase. "Interesting, your power did more than just purify."

"It did?"

Naaza straightened up met Usagi's eyes with a skeptical look of his own. "You don't even know?"

"When you're done harassing my princess," Haruka said, her mouth right at Naaza's ear, "then you can explain what you're talking about."

"My poison was still bound to that energy," Naaza said, unfazed by her attempt at intimidating him (if Michiru had been present, she actually would have wondered if her girlfriend was trying to seduce him). "I felt it change."

"Right, we discussed that. Purified."

"No," Naaza said, shaking his head. "It _changed_. It became something else entirely. It is one thing to remove evil from something; it is another to transform it."

Haruka remembered thinking that it was odd for the energy to have morphed. She furrowed her brow; maybe it wasn't such a strange thought after all. "What does it matter?"

"Just," Kayura said, giving Usagi a soft look, "my ancestor had the same power."

"What," Usagi said before she could stop herself. "Your _ancestor_?! That—so we—"

"Not the _same_ same," Kayura corrected herself quickly, seeing the panic in Usagi's face. "We're not related, dear no. It's just that form of ancient magic is rare now, and it was a surprise—a pleasant one, mind you—that we can still witness it."

Usagi heaved a huge sigh of relief as she held a hand to her heart. "Whew! Not like it'd be bad being related to you, you're great, it's just my family's already teasing me about where my blonde hair comes from, and you have dark hair, you know, the mystery would just keep piling up."

Everyone wondered if they should encourage her. They decided to pretend that they didn't hear.

"Did you need something, kitten?" Haruka asked. Usagi nodded exuberantly.

"Yeah, we've decided what we're going to do."

"Please tell me it involves going to where Badamon is and kicking his ass," Kayura said wryly. Haruka gave Hotaru a slight glance (one that proudly said, "Did you teach her how to say that?") as Usagi nodded again.

"If possible, we'd like to leave for Elysion once Mako-chan is better." She glanced over at Anubis. "We can wait for him, too—"

"He won't be going anywhere soon," Naaza interrupted, looking almost smug. "He's had my poison run through his body. He won't even be conscious for another day."

Except Anubis's eyes fluttered opened. While Naaza was busy cursing him in his mind, Kayura whirled around and kneeled down by his side. "How do you feel?" she asked as he groaned.

"I'm fine," Anubis said stubbornly as he tried to sit up; he failed miserably and ended up lolling over onto his side. Kayura's arms encircled him, bringing him back to a lying position.

"You should take it easy," she said. Predictably, Anubis scowled at her.

"Take it easy? You must be—"

"Don't argue with her, Anubis," Rajura said. It was rare that he would often get caught up in Anubis's and Naaza's game of 'Who Is the New Leader', but every once in awhile he used a Tone of Voice that neither of them dared to contest. This was one of those moments. Anubis glowered, but he said nothing else.

"At least rest for tonight," Kayura said. She smiled as Anubis turned his glare to her. "I'm giving you a break for once, you should be glad."

"Hmph."

"Take her advice, big guy," Haruka said. Her Space Sword was casually dangling from her fingers, even though the threat was gone. It was a source of comfort, even when she wasn't particularly threatened. She would never admit it out loud, but it felt reassuring, sometimes, to just feel the warmth radiating from it. "We're gonna need you for tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Usagi puckered up her lip in thought. "That's what Mako-chan thought, too."

"Anything else we should know?"

For the briefest of moments, a chill grabbed at Usagi's heart. It was gone in a second, but it left a trace of terror inside her. She forced another smile, pushing away thoughts of the Black Moon Clan away. It wasn't that she was afraid of them (Makoto had been right—they beat them once, could do it easily again). It was the idea of—what if everyone the Senshi had defeated also refused to stay down? What if her Senshi would never know peace? "No. Well—maybe Ami could explain it to you better. Honestly a lot of it went over my head."

"Typical." Haruka affectionately nudged her shoulder. She gave her a sheepish smile.

"Tomorrow then," Kayura said, getting up. She brushed off her robes and nodded at Naaza. "You stay here tonight and tend to Anubis. Don't complain," she added when she saw the look that crossed both men's faces. "Rajura, I want you to take command tomorrow. If any of them give you any attitude, you have my permission to knock them down."

"_I_ shall take command?" Rajura's eyebrow lifted. "What about you?"

"I have to take care of my people."

There was something that Usagi caught that the others didn't. While Rajura seemed slightly pleased that Kayura wasn't begging to go off on another adventure, Usagi hesitated to give the Empress a smile. She knew that tone. It was the same tone she spoke with, every once in awhile, whenever she tried to be strong for her Senshi.

Usagi never got too far in that thought, as Haruka threw an arm around her. "Let's go and see if we can't bug Rei for a little bit, Lord knows I need some amusement after today. I'm surprised you're not whining about how hungry you are, kitten."

"Haruka-san!" Usagi protested, allowed the older woman to drag her to the door.

"Hotaru, you coming?" Haruka called over her shoulder. Hotaru, elbow propped on Anubis's bed and chin in hand, shook her head with a slight smile. Haruka paused to narrow her eyes suspiciously, storing the scene for later, just in case. "Hmm, alright, princess, but let Haruka-papa know if you need anything."

The door closed. Kayura stood still for a moment, watching her Masho sit in quiet contemplation. It was evident what they were all thinking—that Anubis would have died if it weren't for Usagi, that Badamon was troublesome, that their pasts were catching up to them. It was exactly what she was thinking.

"I need you to kill Badamon," Kayura said. Naaza seemed startled out of his thoughts before his face slid back into indifference.

"You doubt us?"

"I doubt_ you_," Kayura retorted. She laughed when Naaza started scowling. Rajura rolled his eye.

"You know we will make him suffer."

"In the worst of ways," Anubis added. "Stop fretting."

"I am not _fretting_," Kayura said. She could see the beginnings of a smirk on Rajura's face. "I'm just making sure you three know that I won't be there to bail you out of trouble."

"You inherit Shuten's armor and now you sound like him," Naaza grumbled.

"What was that?" Kayura asked casually, and although she was smiling, Naaza remembered his place. Right. She was Empress and she could (and would, as she had demonstrated long ago) kick his ass. A memory he did not want to relive as it involved his manly pride, although Anubis and Rajura brought it up every so often to put him down.

"Yes, please speak up, Naaza," Anubis said with a knowing grin.

"I saved your life, you rat—"

"Funny, from what I gather, it was Sailor Moon who did that—"

"Children," Rajura said lazily. The two of them snapped their mouths shut. Kayura brushed off her robes again before making her way to the door.

"Thank you," she said quietly before she left, but they easily picked up the words. Rajura fell back onto the stool, his gaze solemn as he turned to Anubis. He said nothing, however. He didn't need to, because Anubis knew.

He had almost died. He had almost died and left Naaza and Rajura to deal with Kayura. As much as he didn't want to admit it, that was the worst of his fears—that he would follow directly in Shuten's footsteps. There was no glory in dying, especially as a martyr; his life was more valuable than his death. He—they—had so much more to do, so much more to prove.

Redemption was an impossible goal, but peace of mind was within their grasps.

"Why are you still here?" Anubis said instead, turning his irritation onto Hotaru. She blinked, coming out of her own thoughts. A slightly embarrassed look came over her face.

"I'm sort of avoiding Michiru."

Naaza snorted. "You incurred the wrath of your mother?"

Hotaru moved a hand towards Anubis's brow, brushing aside his hair lightly. Her touch made him uncomfortably comfortable, but he said nothing as she spoke. "I had a dream that I would give up my life then. And I don't doubt that Setsuna saw the same thing in the future and meant to sacrifice herself in my place. Seeing as neither happened..."

"You are saying the future has changed its course," Rajura concluded.

"Maybe." A beat, then a slightly teasing smile. "Maybe Naaza could ask Setsuna."

At this thought, Naaza's expression turned haughty. "I don't need your permission to court the Guardian—"

"_Court_?" Hotaru's amused disposition immediately fell. "Naaza, she's my _mother_, and I don't—I don't give you _permission_—"

"I will do whatever I want," Naaza said. "And it's Naaza-sama, you little—"

"Children." Rajura sighed like an impatient father, shaking his head. Really, the fate of the world was at hand, and everyone was still squabbling like four-year-olds.

"Give it a rest, Naaza," Anubis said, deciding to get the last word in. "The Guardian prefers someone like me, not an insolent baboon like—"

The rest of his words were drowned by the pillow that smacked his face. Before he could chuck it back at Naaza, however, he realized that the angle was completely off. Naaza would have to have been sitting where Hotaru was in order to have thrown that pillow. Then it clicked; he cast his deadliest glare onto the girl, who was trying not to fall into giggles with Naaza.

Children, Rajura thought for the hundredth time that day. Absolute children.

* * *

**an** shorter than usual. the end is near, guys. can you taste it?!

thank you for reading xo


	16. Chapter 15

**fifteen**

Tokyo was practically defenseless from any potential supernatural attack, but it felt like nothing had changed since the Samurai Troopers and Sailor Senshi had left. Chibiusa sat on a park bench, staring at her shoes. They had been a gift from Minako—cute little flats, perfect for jumper shorts. She stared for a moment longer at the shoes.

"You look upset," Jun said, flopping down beside her. He swung his duffle bag over his shoulder and dropped it to the ground; Chibiusa could see his kendo gear sticking out from a not-quite closed zipper. So he had just gotten out of practice.

"You look gross," Chibiusa responded, wrinkling her nose. She squealed when he threw an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. "Ugh!"

"Take a deep breath, Chibi, this is the scent of a man."

"Yuck!" Chibiusa shoved him away, laughing at his expression. He casually locked his fingers behind his neck, stretching his legs out in front of him. A peaceful smile crossed his face as he watched the world in front of them.

"You thinking about them?"

Chibiusa blinked. She watched as the smile slowly slipped off Jun's face. For a second, he seemed lost. And then he resurfaced again as he turned his gaze to the sky.

"They'll be fine," he said quietly. "Knowing Ryo-niichan, they'll be fine."

"You're not worried at all?" The words escaped her lips before she could stop herself. She curled her fingers into apprehensive fists as he glanced at her. Instead of looking offended or startled, he seemed—contemplative. It was a moment before Jun spoke.

"I idolized them when I was younger," he said, the corners of his lips tilting up. "I spent more time over at Nasuti's place than I was at home. I mean, I realize now I was probably just some annoying kid to them. But to me, they were... They saved the world, you know?"

Chibiusa wondered if he knew that she understood exactly what he was saying. She swallowed; of course he didn't. To him, she was Tsukino Usagi, second daughter of the Tsukino household in twenty-first century Tokyo. He had no idea.

"Now they're like brothers to me. And I can see how hard it was for them. Back then, I thought we were on the same level. But now I know that Nasuti and I were just caught up in the events while they had to protect us. They were also just ordinary guys, but they had to..."

His voice trailed off. Chibiusa fell prey to her own thoughts of Crystal Tokyo's Guardian Senshi. Chibiusa had always looked up to them; they were her mother's best friends as well as accomplished warriors. They could do anything. And when the Black Moon Clan had invaded, it was their power that prevented the complete destruction of Crystal Tokyo.

But traveling back in time, she realized they were all just young women trying to protect what they love.

"They're strong." Jun's smile returned, but there was a grave look in his eyes. Chibiusa knew this look; it was the look he got minutes right before a kendo match. "They don't know it, but they're strong. They focus so much on trying to make things right, and when things go wrong they constantly blame themselves, but I know they're strong. And I believe in them."

And then a sudden thought occurred to Chibiusa, one that did not belong at all in her mind given their serious conversation. She was from the freaking _future_, and he had _no clue_. Oh _shit_.

"Besides, they've got the Sailor Senshi with them," Jun concluded, as if that solved everything (in most cases concerning supernatural aliens, it did). He threw his head back to stare at the sky again. One arm slid over the top of the bench to pull Chibiusa closer to him.

"Sorry," Chibiusa mumbled, twiddling her fingers. He raised an eyebrow.

"Are you apologizing for being cute?"

"You are so gross," Chibiusa said, elbowing him. His laugh quickly turned into an, "Oof!" as he tried to regain his breath. She rolled her eyes as he retrieved his arm from her childishly. On the outside she was cool, but on the inside her mind couldn't stop replaying her epiphany. She was from the future, and she was dating a boy from the past, and he had no idea.

"I wonder when they're gonna come back," Jun said after a moment.

Tell him you stupid girl, her mind said. "Me too. Knowing Usagi she's probably doing more eating than fighting," her mouth said instead.

"Usa-neechan is nice," Jun commented. He grinned, knocking his head against Chibiusa's. "You make it sound like she's fat and ugly."

"_You're_ fat and ugly," Chibiusa grumbled, rubbing her forehead. She tried to fight against smiling when Jun just pulled her closer with a wink.

"You're the one dating me," he said, and her smile almost slipped. Tell him you're from the future, her mind screamed. Tell him you are over nine hundred years old and you dated a flying horse.

"I call it charity," she said. He laughed, and the sound pleasant was to her ears. What was she thinking? She would have to leave back to the future eventually. She would have to leave him behind. The thought made her head spin.

"Hey," Jun said softly, gaining her attention. He pulled his arm away, rummaging through his duffle bag. From it he pulled out a necklace. Chibiusa stared at the red jewel that hung from it. It looked like a teardrop, or a yin to a yang. Oh god, she thought, he didn't have a matching necklace, did he?

"What is it?" she chose to ask.

"I dunno why they let me keep it," Jun said easily. He fingered the jewel for a moment before he sighed. "I know we can't really do much in case something happens. I'm trusting that Ryo-niichan and the others will come back safe. But this is the Jewel of Life."

Jun slipped the necklace over her head; she watched his face, ignoring the sudden weight hanging against her chest. There was a soft smile on his face, one she hadn't ever really seen before. And Jun had many faces; he was the endearing little boy who looked up to his friends as well as the smug teenager who chased cute girls in the halls. She had fallen for him when a classmate had dragged her to a kendo match. She hadn't expected the goofball Yamano from class 2D to be so passionate during his match.

This face in front of her now—so enamored and honest—made Chibiusa's stomach twist uncomfortably at the thought of what he didn't know. She clutched at the necklace, glancing down.

"This will protect you," Jun said. His fingers hesitated over her shoulders before he brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. Then he cupped her cheek in his palm, leaning in closer.

Chibiusa's heart skipped about three beats in a row, but before he could kiss her she planted one hand on his chest and shoved him away. Jun looked absolutely startled.

"I," he said, and she cringed.

"I'm from the future and I'm over nine hundred years old and I was dating someone before I came back to this time," she said in one breath, with one eye closed while the other peered apprehensively at him.

Jun _stared_.

"I'm sorry," Chibiusa said, opening the other eye. He didn't seem to hear her. "Are you—are you mad?"

"Mad," Jun repeated. "Am I mad?"

"I know this is a lot to take in—"

"A lot? A _lot_?" If the situation had been any different, Chibiusa would have thought that his bugged-out eyes were pretty funny. Instead she felt the guilt eating away at her insides. "Chibi, you just told me you're practically two-timing!"

Chibiusa paused. She squinted at him, leaning back for a better angle. "I'm from the future," she said slowly.

"Who cares about that?" Jun said in frustration. "Who is this other guy?"

"Uh, do you not care that I'm—"

"A freaking grandma, got it," Jun said. Chibiusa's mouth opened angrily, but he continued over her. "Now tell me who this other guy is—"

"You are an idiot," Chibiusa said loudly, springing to her feet. "I'm dating a complete and utter _idiot_—"

"At least I'm not a two-timer!"

Chibiusa couldn't help it. Maybe she was hysterical. Maybe she was sick and tired of always being left behind, but she started laughing like what he had just said was the funniest thing in the world. He started sputtering.

"This isn't funny—"

"You are such a loser," Chibiusa crowed, falling back on the bench. She swung a hand over her eyes, still giggling. Beside her, Jun uncomfortably patted her head. "Oh my god, I can't believe this."

"Chibi—"

"Helios," Chibiusa said, still not over her (possibly mental) breakdown. "His name is Helios."

Jun fell quiet, mulling the thought over in his head. He glanced away, choosing to stare instead at a kid running around with his dog. Maybe for one moment his mind was caught up in the past, and the kid was him, and that dog was Byakuen. But when Chibiusa cleared her throat uncomfortably, he came back to the present. He met her gaze awkwardly. "Do I have to fight this guy?"

"No!" Chibiusa looked as uncomfortable as he felt. "No, it's—it's not like that. It's—not like that."

"Then what is it?"

Chibiusa fell quiet, wringing her hands. He thought that she looked so unlike herself at that moment. Chibiusa was not wrung hands and pouted lip. She was punches and smug looks, big grins and hands-on-hips.

"Chibi—"

"I came to the past because I couldn't handle the future," she said. She lowered her eyes, shrugging her shoulders. "I couldn't handle—all my friends are in this time. The Senshi in _this_ time are my friends. And Helios, he—I couldn't handle what he wanted from me. We had a fight. I told him I didn't want any of it. He told me to take whatever time I needed."

"So you came here."

"So I came here and I want to stay here, but I don't belong here." Chibiusa heaved a sigh, pressing the heel of her palm to her forehead. "I'm so sorry, Jun."

It was a moment before Jun replied, "_I'm_ the one dating an idiot."

Chibiusa's mouth opened. "What?"

"I don't understand how you think you don't belong here," he continued quietly. "If all your friends are here, if _I'm_ here, then you're right where you need to be."

Then the Jewel of Life started glowing. Before Chibiusa could even get a single word out, she vanished in a flash of light. Jun took three seconds to understand what happened before he grabbed his bag and rushed down the street to find Nasuti.

x

The second they landed in Elysion, Sailor Moon let out a horrified gasp. She held her gloved hands to her mouth, shaking her head. "This can't be the right place," she said as she stared at the black crystals that littered the ground.

"Mercury, scan," Venus ordered, as she stepped out of the circle. Her eyes swept over the land before they rested over the ruined temple.

"You did that?" Naaza asked Anubis, who simply smirked.

"So what do we do?" Jupiter asked, scratching her cheek. "We're here. Do Ryo and I just, I dunno, wave our arms? Here we are, Badamon?"

"Worth a shot," Shuu joked, nudging her. She gave him a dry look.

"This is a trap!" Mercury suddenly shouted, taking Mars's and Neptune's hands. "We need to get out, this isn't Elysion!"

"What?" Ryo was bewildered as he stepped back into the circle. "This is where we were before—"

"There's no time, hurry—"

She was cut off when a large beam of dark energy collided right at her. Mercury flew back, her feet skidding against the ground; once the dark energy disappeared, they saw that she had thrown up a wall of ice just in time.

Uranus wasted no time on trying to figure the situation out; she only had to nod at Neptune before the two of them leapt away from their comrades. Her eyes searched the sky while Neptune's scanned the ground. There was nothing that hinted at an enemy. From the look Neptune gave her, the other Senshi found nothing as well.

"Are you alright?" Touma asked as Mercury regrouped with them. She nodded, activating her Mercury goggles again.

"Submarine reflection!" Neptune narrowed her eyes as the Mirror shone towards the sky. "Uranus—above you!"

Uranus swung up with the Space Sword before she leapt back. The clouds parted at her energy, revealing Badamon. Beside him was a floating tomb; Seiji narrowed his eyes. There was no mistaking it—it reeked of Arago.

"I did not expect you to come so soon," he said, and the voice was enough for Shin and Rajura to attack.

"Cho ryu ha!"

"Tochimou!"

Venus whirled to face Mercury. "What's going on? What do you mean, this isn't Elysion?"

"The energy," Mercury said in a rush, typing away at her supercomputer. "It's the same thing as Saphir and Demand, something is masking this land's energy to make it seem like Elysion but underneath it all it's completely different."

"Impossible," Pluto murmured to herself, watching as Rajura and Shin continued to attack Badamon relentlessly. Her hands gripped her staff tightly. "There's no way—"

"I'm sorry, Pluto, but that is what the situation is." Mercury snapped the computer shut and it faded from sight. "Shabon spray!"

Bubbles covered Badamon's view. Both Anubis and Touma aimed for the tomb while Ryo, Jupiter and Uranus turned their attacks towards Badamon. Any result was obscured by the fog, which Mercury kept throwing for cover.

"There has to be a way around his barrier," Venus muttered, scanning the sky. "Mars—"

"Already tried it," Mars said. Both Neptune and Venus turned to see ofuda dangling from her fingertips. "He's learned from last time."

"Maybe you're becoming shaky in your skill," Shuten said. Before Mars could even lower her eyebrows at him, he reeled back his arm and threw his staff. His aim was sharp; the staff broke through whatever barrier Badamon had created, just as Seiji let an attack through.

Badamon was hit, but he got back up without difficulty. "So you show yourself, Shuten."

The staff jingled as it landed. Shuten swiftly moved forward, retrieving it. He didn't reply to Badamon's taunt, turning instead to the Masho. It was unlike them to be working together so well. Had Kayura somehow managed to reel them in?

"You're worrying about the wrong person!" Naaza shouted. "Ja ga ken!"

"You idiot, control your aim!" Anubis snapped as he had to duck to avoid getting hit. Shuten sighed, taking back his earlier thoughts.

"What are you doing with Arago's body?" Seiji shouted, at which Badamon's smile grew sinister.

"You worry yourself over meaningless things," Badamon said. "Now, Rekka, Jupiter, give me your energy!"

And Ryo found that he couldn't move. He looked at his feet to see that black crystal encased them; with a swing of his arms, he brought his swords down. They didn't even scratch the surface.

"Jupiter!" Sailor Moon cried out. She threw her tiara at the crystals; it bounced uselessly before returning to her hands.

"Stand back," Jupiter said, drawing her arm back. Sailor Moon did as she was told and Jupiter unleashed a ball of lightning. Unlike the physical attacks, however, the crystals absorbed her energy. "What—"

She broke off into a cry, her body suddenly writhing as black tendrils snaked up her legs. Ryo gasped for air as he found himself abruptly breathless as the same wisps snuck up his body. He felt weak, he thought—weaker than weak, he was being _drained_.

This was not the way he was going to go down. He struggled against the bindings, thinking that if he couldn't break free, then Jun and Nasuti had no right believing in him.

"With your energy, I will be strong enough to strip Arago of his own power!"

"Was he always this dramatic?" Uranus asked, cutting through an excessive bolt of energy that Badamon had thrown at her. Shuu caught his breath for a moment.

"Typical sidekick, you know," he said. He swung his tetsubo into the air. "Gan tessai!"

The ground underneath Jupiter crackled before exploding into pieces of dirt. The crystal remained intact though.

"Damn it," he hissed. "Kino, I'll get you out—"

Jupiter gritted her teeth, feeling as if electric shocks were shooting up into her. "You've got to be kidding me," she choked out, breathing heavily. Why did all their enemies insist on trying to hurt _her_ with lightning? She drew back her arm again before smashing her fist into the crystal. "Supreme thunder!"

"What are you—"

"Stay back!" Shuu abruptly stopped as Jupiter growled at him. She closed her eyes, trying to ignore the surge of pain. Any attack on the crystal would directly hurt her, but the longer they were there, the more of her energy it would drain... She just had to bear with it. She sent another volley of lightning, blinking back her tears and stopping her body from lurching.

"Kino, _stop_!" Shuu had dropped his tetsubo and grabbed her arms. On the floor beside them, Sailor Moon had wrapped her arms around Jupiter's middle. She had tears in her eyes, shaking her head.

"Mako-chan, don't hurt yourself," she said, her breath coming out shaky.

"I," Jupiter said, eyes wide. She struggled for a moment against Shuu's grasp; to her surprise, he kept his grip. "Shuu—"

"You're being an idiot," Shuu said, sparing no sympathy. "I'm not letting go until you promise you'll stop."

"I'll stop," Jupiter said automatically, looking alarmed. She swallowed, fighting to keep her eyes open. "But you know these crystal things are draining my energy—"

A sudden thought occurred to Sailor Moon. She stepped back, wiping her eyes before pointing her wand at Jupiter's feet. "Shuu, step back. Jupiter, I'm sorry if it hurts—"

It was all Jupiter could do to brace herself as Sailor Moon swung out with her wand.

"Starlight honeymoon therapy kiss!"

But instead of pain coursing through her body, she felt the strongest kind of warmth. It refilled her, replenishing whatever energy had been lost to Badamon. Jupiter had sparks on the tips of her fingers; as the crystal at her feet cracked and shattered, she aimed for Badamon. "Sparkling wide pressure!"

Badamon avoided it, but it felt good to have him dodging _her_ attacks.

Sailor Moon sucked in a deep breath, facing Ryo. He was slumped over Uranus, who was trying to both hold him up and target Badamon at the same time. Rajura and Kayura's words replayed in her mind, telling her that she had the power to change things entirely. Why hadn't she thought of it sooner? "Starlight honeymoon therapy kiss!"

Uranus was startled when Ryo suddenly broke free from the crystal. He stumbled a bit, but she could see the strength returning to his eyes. Glancing over her shoulder, she smirked at Sailor Moon.

"Thanks," Ryo gasped before he unsheathed his katana. "Shin! With me!"

Shin nodded, aiming his yari. "After you."

"Sou en zan!"

"Cho ryu ha!"

They didn't expect it to do much damage—but somehow the attack made its way through Badamon's barrier, slicing at him. Shin looked startled for a moment, unable to believe that he'd been the one to somehow make the first cut. Touma didn't even hesitate to attack once he saw an opening; his surekill ripped through the barrier and broke it down.

"I don't know what's going on," Shuu said, spinning his tetsubo over his head, "but I'm not complaining."

Five seconds later, he wondered why he didn't keep his mouth shut. The sky behind Badamon ripped open to reveal a myriad of sinisterly colored clouds. That was not real, Shuu thought. It couldn't be real. Gray and red clouds didn't exist. He and Shin shared bewildered looks, especially as Badamon started wailing.

"No!" he shouted as a force started pulling him into the rip. "No! I will take Arago's last energy! I _will_ be the world's ruler!"

Everyone stared in shock as Badamon's body ripped into shreds before falling into the rip. And then Mercury held a hand to her mouth, horrified.

"Dark gates," she whispered. She turned wildly to Venus. "Dark gates! All these little rips have been dark gates!"

"No," Venus said, glancing over at Sailor Moon. "Then that means—"

She didn't have to finish her sentence. The tomb that contained Arago's body was also being sucked into the rip, just as a pair of multi-colored hands appeared. Then there was a crystal ball, and robes, and a chilling, booming voice that almost sent Sailor Moon to her knees in disbelief.

"Badamon," the voice said. "What an interesting creature. Willing to do anything to get revenge on his former master, even distract you while I return to life. In the end, he was just a nuisance. What a fool to not recognize the true leader of the Sailor Senshi."

And there he was, the Death Phantom.

"Who are you?" Naaza asked. The robed figure stank of the same poison that had been in Anubis's body. Judging by the expressions of most of the Sailor Senshi, this was someone they had encountered before.

Death Phantom didn't bother to answer. He continued to wave his hands around the crystal ball; they all saw black sparks sizzling around it. "The pieces will assemble. I will have my revenge."

Mars drew in a sharp breath, letting an arrow fly at him; the flames disappeared well before they were within the vicinity of his floating frame. He waved his hands and Mars found herself flying back as a beam of energy slammed into her.

"Mars!" Sailor Moon cried out, watching her friend roll onto her back. The second she turned her back, Death Phantom aimed for her. Shin didn't even have time to think as he threw one arm around her waist and leapt out of the way.

"Careful!" he said, setting her down. Sailor Moon rushed out of his arms, scrambling to where Mars lay. "Usagi!"

Sailor Moon ignored him, sliding to her knees. Her hands trembled as she tried to prop Mars up. "Mars—"

Her words were cut off as Mars suddenly grabbed her by the collar and yanked her down. Sailor Moon's eyes widened as she lay atop Mars, whose arm was wrapped around her. "Don't look up," Mars said, but she didn't have to say it. Sailor Moon felt the energy that passed over their head; a chill ran through her body.

"How is this happening?" she murmured, but Mars caught the words.

"Don't think about that," Mars said. With a bit of effort, she sat up, pulling Sailor Moon with her. The energy had passed, but only because Death Phantom had started picking at the Troopers. They were holding their own, she realized. Maybe—no, there was no time for maybes. That came later. Now was war. "Come on."

On the edge of the battlefield, Seiji deftly avoided an attack that would have sent him flying. He swung at Death Phantom, unleashing a surekill that proved ineffective. He narrowed his eyes, trying to find an opening. The massive amount of evil aura pouring out of Death Phantom was clouding everything. He was practically blind, he thought, with nowhere to aim.

But wasn't that what his training had been for? When he had gone home for a month, he had focused on clearing his mind. So why was it so hard? He had to think. He had to block everything out and just _feel_—otherwise everything that they were fighting for (the world, their families, Nasuti) would be endangered.

And there—there it was. The crystal ball was the source of the evil aura. Seiji swung out with his nodachi again, just as Touma fired off an arrow. "Choudando rai ko zan!"

And it hit. Death Phantom reeled back for a moment and all of his attacks seemed to freeze. The crystal ball in front of him pulsed with Seiji's attack. Touma saw the opportunity. "Shin kuu ha!"

The arrow landed right on the crystal ball. Seiji let out a slow breath, watching as both his and Touma's surekills tried to contain the crystal ball. He had hope—until suddenly the light from their attacks burst and the darkness overcame it again.

"I control space and time," Death Phantom said. His voice echoed through all of their hearts. Ryo gritted his teeth, trying to will his energy to return to him. "This land is mine. Elysion is mine. The Youjakai is mine. The human world is mine. You will not stop me."

Pluto swung out her staff, her expression cold. "You forget that I also wield the powers of space and time."

"And yet you did not even know that you stepped foot in an imitation of the Golden Kingdom," Death Phantom said. "You cannot defeat me."

The crystal ball in front of him glowed; before anyone could react, the world around them whirred into a blur. They felt themselves being picked up by an unknown force, scattered into the wind, and then everything was black.

x

Seiji was the first to wake up; a cold feeling filled him as soon as his mind regained consciousness. He pushed himself to his knees, glancing around. Beside him, Jupiter was starting to stir. He paused for a moment as he noticed the wounds she had, and not for the first time he wondered why the Sailor Senshi chose to fight in their outfits.

"Seiji," a hoarse voice said. He turned to see Ryo weakly sitting up; he rushed forward, supporting his friend.

"How are you feeling?"

"Great," Ryo tried to joke. He let out a slow breath. "Where are we?"

"I assume another part of this land," Seiji answered. "Truthfully, I don't know. We're separated from everyone else."

"Ugh," Jupiter said, rolling onto her back. "Please tell me I'm not dead."

"You're not dead," Ryo said. He watched as Seiji slowly helped her to sit up. "Are you okay? You're bleeding."

"I'm always bleeding," Jupiter moaned, pressing a hand to the wound on her leg. She grimaced as she applied pressure.

"We should probably redesign these outfits," Mars grumbled beside Ryo as she, too, sat up. She gingerly touched her side, where her uniform was ripped from taking an attack head on. At least she wasn't bleeding. "Someone wake up Venus."

"Don't have to," Venus's voice crackled. The blonde slowly lifted herself to her knees before she stood up. She seemed to only have scratches on her. "We need to regroup with everyone else."

"Easier said than done," Ryo said. He helped Mars up, careful not to accidentally touch her side. "Who was that guy?"

"Death Phantom," Venus said, her jaw clenched. "We defeated him years ago, though. How in the world is he back?"

"He mentioned control of space and time," Seiji said. He glanced over at Jupiter, who had also gotten to her feet.

"Death Phantom," Mars murmured to herself, running a hand through her hair. She looked unusually frazzled. "Of course. How could I be so stupid?"

"What are you talking about?"

Venus's sharp voice distracted her from her thoughts. Jupiter glanced over her shoulder at them, brow furrowed.

"Mars."

"It's the talismans," Mars said in a clipped tone. If the way Venus suddenly stared at her affected her, she didn't show it. "I had a vision of the talismans destroying the world. There was someone controlling them. Now I know it's Death Phantom."

Venus took two steps forward and slapped her.

"Hey, hey!" Jupiter strode forward, forgetting her injuries and cutting in between the two before Mars could retaliate. She reached out and held Venus back. Ryo and Seiji could only stare with wide eyes. "Words, Venus, not—"

"Words, you want words?" Venus leaned over Jupiter's shoulder, throwing Mars the angriest glare either of them had seen. "I have plenty of words. _Bullshit_, for one—"

"Let her go, Jupiter," Mars said, lowering her chin. The wind whipped her hair in her face wildly, and for a moment she looked just as angry.

"What? Are you crazy—"

"She's got something to say to me. Let her say it."

Venus placed her hands on Jupiter's shoulders and shoved her back. Jupiter stumbled before quickly grabbing a hold of Venus against. "You need to calm down! This whole situation is out of your control and you're just frustrated—"

"It wouldn't be if she just told us from the beginning," Venus said, struggling against Jupiter. "You had _a _vision, yeah right, I bet you've been seeing it all along—"

Jupiter glanced at Mars and saw at once that Venus had hit the right mark. Despite the fact that she also felt betrayed by the dishonesty, she couldn't place the blame on her. There was no point in blaming others. "Okay, that might be the case, but _calm down_. We need to work together, not attack each other."

"We are _separated_!" Venus burst out. "Death Phantom is back! You know how Usagi is—"

"I know how _you_ are!" Jupiter finally shouted, one hand clenching into a shaking fist. Her booming voice left Venus speechless for a moment. "I know you're leader, and I know you want to be responsible for everything, but you're _not_! So stop freaking out for one second and realize that everyone here is just as stressed as you!"

"Minako," Ryo said uncertainly. She took in a deep breath, closing her eyes before she faced him. Jupiter's hands were still on her shoulders, just in case. "I know what you're feeling. I've been there. But the fate of the world isn't on you. We're all here for a reason."

Venus lowered her gaze. Here he was again, being a better leader than she could ever try to be. She felt almost ashamed—but the anger at Mars was still there.

"Minako," Ryo said, stepping towards her. His hand was on her shoulder now, replacing Jupiter's. "If you really need to stay angry, then be angry at me, not her. I figured that she knew something, but I never said anything."

At this, Mars gave him a sharp glance. He ignored that, focusing on Venus.

"You're not alone in this," Ryo said so that only Venus could hear. She suddenly heaved a sigh, looking up at him.

"I probably seem like an idiot to you, huh."

"Hey, I was an idiot once, too." Ryo winked. "Just gotta realize it, then get over it."

Jupiter anxiously stepped back, standing beside Seiji. Her eyes were still worried, even as Venus shook out her arms and legs, releasing her nerves. "I've never seen her like this," Jupiter murmured.

"Some people hide better than others," Seiji responded. Right after he spoke those words, he knew he wasn't talking about Venus as his gaze strayed to Mars.

"I know but..." Jupiter shook her head. "I probably should have sat her down earlier and let her know she doesn't have to be so strong all the time."

Again, Seiji found himself watching Mars. She was stark still, watching Venus with eyes that were blazing—but not with anger, he realized. He recognized that same look in Ryo sometimes, one that was easily mistaken for fury. This was passion—for her friends.

"I am still so upset with you," Venus said to Mars. Her eyes were actually watering as she looked at her comrade. "I thought—you didn't think you could trust us? _Me_?"

"Whatever," Mars replied flatly. She watched as Venus, frustrated, wiped her eyes with the back of her glove.

"You—"

"If I'd told you, you would have been so focused on trying to solve the problem that you'd forget how to be Minako," she continued. "And when things go wrong, we need Minako."

"I don't—"

"Notice that I didn't say Venus," Mars said, turning away. Her eyes fell on Seiji for some reason, and she paused when he gave her what he probably thought looked like a smile. And there it was again, that feeling that he understood. Don't even think it, Mars told herself. She swallowed, and then she was knocked off balance as Venus tackled her. Jupiter caught them both, looking absolutely startled.

"I'm so sorry!" Venus cried out, burying her face in her shoulder. "I should have realized this was your way of showing your affection!"

"Ugh, get off me—"

"When all this is over, I will personally tend to your cheek!"

"I will never get used to you, Minako, I seriously thought I had to punch you for a second," Jupiter joked as she enveloped her comrades. Mars squirmed uncomfortably, trying to escape; Venus latched onto her. Ryo and Seiji shared a brief look. The Troopers had gone through the same struggles in their early stages, the questioning and the mistrust and arguments. Maybe the Senshi had innately trusted each other so strongly that the second they came together, they did not have the same opportunity to deal with working as a team.

"Alright, enough of that," Venus said, bouncing right back. She shielded her eyes against the bleak sun. "Seiji, can you feel Death Phantom?"

"Of course he can't," Mars said, but it was in the same tone of voice that she used when speaking to Shuu. He didn't really understand what that meant—was she teasing him, or was she really enjoying being antagonistic? Couldn't she just—if she didn't like him, couldn't she stick to that instead of confusing him even more? She turned to him, eyebrows raised. "Well?"

"It's faint," Seiji answered carefully. She seemed satisfied with his answer. "But it's in that direction."

"Let's go then," Jupiter said, cracking her knuckles and gazing towards where he was pointing.

"Already ahead of you," Ryo said, taking the lead.

Seiji lingered back, noticing that Mars was taking a moment to close her eyes. She sighed before she started forward; before he could stop himself, he grabbed her arm. "Hino—"

"What?"

There was that look again—the one from before they had teamed up, where it seemed like he was an insignificant speck in her life. He frowned, releasing her arm. "Perhaps next time, you should—"

Mars turned away, stalking off. Seiji sighed, wondering why he even tried. Still, he was more stubborn than she thought.

"Hino, I know you don't want them to worry. But that's not the only thing you should think about."

Had there been magic in his words? Mars stopped and whirled around so quickly that he almost ran into her. There was a perplexed look on her face, one without any hostility. In fact, had they not been in the middle of a battlefield, he might have found her—cute. But Mars and cute didn't go together, especially when she could burn him to dust without even trying.

"What do you mean?"

Seiji stared. When he realized she was serious, he cleared his throat. "I can explain after... this," he chose to reply. Again the confused look appeared on her face as she slowly nodded.

"Fine," Mars said. Then she flipped her hair over her shoulder and started after the other three. Seiji took a moment to mentally kick himself, wondering what he was getting into.

x

"We need to find everyone," was the first thing Sailor Moon said when she realized they had been split up. Uranus paused in the middle of wiping at the cut on her forehead to give her a concerned look.

"Kitten, you're bleeding."

"I'm fine," Sailor Moon said, rubbing at the scrape on her knee.

"I'm already running an energy scan," Mercury said, typing away at her supercomputer. "Death Phantom is to the north. Mars, Jupiter and Venus seem to be heading in that direction. Pluto and Saturn haven't moved; they're south of us."

"Can you explain this Death Phantom to us?" Touma asked before anyone else could get another word in. He had been the first to wake up for once, and he wasn't sure if he enjoyed it. It had been a test of his patience to wait for everyone else to regain consciousness. "I'm not exactly comfortable with just rushing back into battle. He managed to disarm and separate us with a wave of his hand."

"Agreed," Mercury mumbled, still focused on the text on her goggles. "Death Phantom was from the future when we first encountered him. It's possible that after his defeat, he lingered around as energy."

"You are saying he never died?" Shuten asked. He and Anubis were still sitting on the ground, saving their own strength.

"No, he died." Mercury bit on her lip, turning to Touma. "My scan showed that parts of him still exist—or don't exist, if you will—as wave functions, constantly transferring energy. I'm not sure how he managed to regain a tangible form. Perhaps in the time between his defeat and now he was able to combine whatever was left of his magic with his energy state, I'm not entirely too sure."

Touma nodded, picking up on her train of thought. "But you think that's what he meant when he said he controlled time and space. He still partially retains his state of energy that travels through the two."

"Hey, um, that's entirely fascinating," Uranus interrupted to both Anubis's and Shuten's gratitude, "but what?"

Touma fought against a sigh. "Quantum theory. He died and existed as—"

"Forget it," Uranus said, ignoring the way he rolled his eyes. "We just need to get back there and kick his ass."

"I'm not sure if that's possible," Mercury said before thinking. The second the words left her mouth, her eyes widened and she glanced at Sailor Moon. The blonde's expression was permanently creased into desperation.

"Not possible?" Sailor Moon asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "What do you mean?"

"I—I just meant—"

"She just meant that science would make it nearly impossible," Touma said swiftly, catching what was going on. His lips lifted in a smirk. "Of course, we have other means, don't we, Usagi?"

Sailor Moon glanced away, nodding slowly. "Right," she said, but her voice was barely an echo of who she was. Mercury bit her lip again, casting Uranus a guilty glance. Uranus raked a hand through her hair, glancing to the north.

"Badamon was just a ploy then," Shuten said quietly. His eyes were also drawn to the north, where the faint outline of Death Phantom's dark gate lingered in the air. The memory of Badamon being sucked into the gate replayed in his mind. He drew no satisfaction from it; Badamon's death had not been at his own hands. "We were all tricked."

"There's nothing we can do about that," Touma said. "We just have to figure out a way to defeat Death Phantom without getting ourselves separated again."

"Agreed," Mercury said distractedly, glancing back at the sudden words that appeared on her screen. She therefore missed the way Touma realized that they had sort of made up without even apologizing; he looked almost pleased with himself.

"That gate," Neptune said from the ground, her eyes opening slowly. All eyes turned to her; she had still been unconscious and was just waking up now. "We can close that gate. It's similar to the rips that allowed youja soldiers into Tokyo."

"You're awake," Uranus said softly, kneeling beside Neptune. She held a hand gently to Neptune's back. "How do you feel?"

"I'm fine," Neptune said, taking her hand for a moment. "Although I was having a particularly good dream."

"Oh?" Uranus gave a slight smile. "Care to share?"

"I can share later tonight," Neptune replied, much to Uranus's well-concealed embarrassment (Anubis, however, smirked and nudged Shuten). She glanced over at Sailor Moon, who had her hands clenched in fists. She was staring off into the distance—not towards the north, where Death Phantom was, but to the sky, where the moon should have been. "Sailor Moon, what are we going to do next?"

"Ah?" Sailor Moon blinked rapidly, coming out of her thoughts. She stared at Neptune for more than a minute before she shook her head. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention..."

Usually that remark would have sent everyone sighing in exasperation. This time it was met with silence. Mercury swallowed before she reached out and touched her shoulder. "Usagi, are you alright?"

"Of course I am!" Sailor Moon replied, but it was easy for Mercury to see through that lie.

Anubis didn't know Sailor Moon, and he might have not cared if it weren't for the fact that she was the wielder of the Ginzuishou. It was Shuten, though, who spoke up. "We can try regrouping, if you like. Or we could face Death Phantom and buy time for everyone else to catch up."

"Oh," Sailor Moon. She held a fist to her lip, doing a perfect imitation of thinking. In reality she was wondering how many more times she was going to have to put her friends through danger. "Good idea."

"Of course, we don't have to face Death Phantom at all."

All eyes stared at him. His expression didn't waver as he continued to look only at Sailor Moon. Her blue eyes were wide. "What do you mean?"

"We could go back," Shuten said. "Go back to the Youjakai. This land isn't even Elysion. It's a figment of his creation. If this land is lost, it wouldn't mean anything."

"What are you saying?" Uranus growled, standing up straight. She grabbed Shuten by the collar, pulling him towards her. "You're saying we should run away?"

"Not run away," Shuten said calmly, placing his hand over hers. He pried her fingers off, ignoring her scowl. "I'm saying we live. If we face him, we might die."

"You've died before, Shuten," Touma said. He sounded utterly confused. What was Shuten playing at? "In fact, if I'm not mistaken, you'll die the second this battle is over."

"Do you not fear death, Tenkuu no Touma?"

"I would lie if I said no," Touma replied, narrowing his eyes. "But who says anyone has to die? Either way, I have people to protect. Nasuti, Jun, my parents."

"It is a realistic possibility that you could die. You're prepared to give up your life?" Shuten raised his eyebrows. "You've told your parents goodbye?"

Touma had no answer for that. He stared at Shuten with hard eyes, not backing down. Still sitting, Anubis leaned back on his arms. He had only an inkling of what Shuten was doing. The youngest of the Masho had used this tactic several times when he had been alive and their leader, but Anubis wasn't so sure if this was the right way to approach the situation...

"Shuten," Sailor Moon said, drawing everyone's eyes. There was a look in her eyes that Uranus, Neptune and Mercury were barely familiar with; instead of the usual optimism, her face was determined. It was this gaze that brought down Chaos. "Stop it. If you want to go back, then that's your choice. Otherwise, the rest of us are going to defeat Death Phantom and put him down for good."

Or maybe it would work perfectly. Anubis got to his feet, sharing a grin with Shuten. "Using the same moves, are we?"

Shuten feigned innocence. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Hmph," Anubis said, slapping him on the back. So long as the Moon girl wasn't moping around anymore.

"Sailor Moon, I apologize," Shuten said smoothly, bowing his head. "I lost confidence."

Sailor Moon puckered up her lips as she glanced at him sideways. "O-_kay_," she said, sounding suspicious. "So you're coming with us?"

"If you trust me to."

"Hmm," Sailor Moon said, peering closely at his face. The realization hit her and her eyes widened. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

Shuten blinked. "I'm afraid I don't—"

He cut himself off as Sailor Moon suddenly threw her arms around his middle and squeezed. He gave Anubis a startled glance; the Yami Masho was snorting with laughter. Sailor Moon bounced back just as quickly as she had hugged him, and she gave him a smile that seemed like it didn't belong in such a bleak situation. "Thank you," she said. "If you want to date Rei-chan, I approve."

"I'm glad I have your approval," Shuten said, unsure of how to respond. Sailor Moon quickly spun on her heel, hands on hips. Her eyes focused on the rest of the group.

"Alright, team! What's the plan?"

"I suggest a diversion," Touma said, catching Mercury's eye. He had the audacity to wink. "I learned it isn't bad to go back to the basics."

"Alright," Uranus said, throwing an arm around Sailor Moon. "So let's head to this guy and start kicking his ass, then."

The group started off towards the north. Anubis strayed behind, keeping Shuten with him. "You've changed," Anubis said.

Shuten merely raised his eyebrows. "So have you," he replied.

x

Shin flexed his hands, watching as Saturn healed the wound on Shuu's shoulder. Other than that, it seemed like Suzunagi's new armor was tougher than they thought. He himself hardly had a scratch on him. "You okay?" he asked Shuu.

"You kidding? This is nothing," Shuu said. He caught sight of Naaza rolling his eyes dramatically. "Got something to say?"

Before Naaza could respond with something akin to, "I don't communicate with scum," Rajura spoke up.

"We should hurry," he said. "With the way things have been turning out, I imagine that this enemy is not someone we can take lightly."

"No," Pluto said, her gaze drawn towards where Death Phantom was floating. "If he could get past me, then he is someone we must treat carefully."

There was something in her voice that Shin couldn't quite place his finger on. She had always been a calm woman, but this was a kind of calm he wasn't used to. It was as if she were resigning herself to something. "Setsuna," he said softly. She turned her him, surprised. "We'll get through this."

Her lips quirked up briefly. "Of course we will," she said. The tone from before was gone, but the unsettling feeling still lingered.

"Is there something you aren't telling us?" Rajura asked politely. He might have suspected that she wasn't being entirely honest, but she was still the Youjakai Guardian.

"No," Pluto responded. "Not this time, anyway."

"Stop interrogating her," Naaza said. Saturn shot him a slight glance, telling him to Keep His Eyes off Her Mother. Naaza ignored her.

"The interrogation isn't unfounded," Pluto said, smiling again. "I'll admit, I haven't been entirely fair. But if worse comes to worse..."

"You intend to give your life again?" Rajura questioned.

"Can't," Pluto said wryly, avoiding Shin's startled gaze. "I made a promise to Neptune. One doesn't break promises they make to Neptune."

"That's for sure," Saturn said lightly. She met Pluto's glance with a curious one of her own. "What are you thinking?"

Pluto sighed. "I'd like to avoid using the Ginzuishou at all costs."

Saturn nodded, understanding. "It would drain her."

"Perhaps we can overpower him," Pluto mused. "We have the Samurai Troopers, as well as former Masho. It will still be a struggle..."

"Setsuna," Shin said, cutting into her train of thought. He had finally understood what that tone was. It was personally familiar to him, from when he had cast Suiko into the water and left his friends to fight Mukala. She was feeling guilty. Her ruby-red eyes were startlingly haunting. Why had he never seen this side of her before? Was she that adept at hiding who she really was? "We'll make this right."

That little smile returned. He wondered if maybe she reserved that smile just for him. "Of course," Pluto said. She turned back to the sky, shielding her eyes with a hand. "We should go, though. I imagine the others are already on their way."

The group made it just in time to see Death Phantom throw an attack at Venus and Mercury, causing them to slam into Naaza and Touma. Shin paused to check on them, but Shuu strode forward. "Alright, Death Phantom, show me what you got!"

Again, Shuu wondered why his brain allowed him to speak. Five seconds later, he was face-down on the ground. He wasn't even sure what had hit him. Neptune was at his side in an instant. "Are you hurt?" she asked, and although her voice was quiet, it was hardly kind. He couldn't blame her; they were in battle.

"Been better," Shuu grumbled, accepted her hand as he pushed himself up. Then he pulled her down, just in time to avoid a particularly nasty looking beam. "Any ideas on how to get this guy?"

"I've never encountered him," Neptune murmured. She had her Mirror out and was looking at it. "Uranus says she can't close the gate, not with the way this battle is going. I can't see through him."

Pluto suddenly toppled backwards towards them; Shuu easily caught her. "Woah, you okay?"

Pluto grimaced, clutching her abdomen with her free hand. Neptune hissed, seeing the large gash. "We need to close that up—"

"It's fine," Pluto said dismissively. "This battle is getting nowhere."

"Everyone has a weakness," Shuu said, gripping his tetsubo. Pluto nodded after a moment.

"I agree. I still don't understand how he managed to fool me..."

"Touma and Mercury had an idea," Neptune said wryly. Her brow was furrowed; this was the least composed Shuu had ever seen her. "I was unconscious for most of it, but apparently Death Phantom is here because of quantum theory."

"Nerd love," Shuu grumbled, shaking his head. Pluto looked momentarily startled, but Neptune hid a smirk.

"Nerd love or not, they had come up with a diversion. That isn't working either. Death Phantom is clever."

"Pink sugar heart attack!"

Everyone turned towards the new voice to see Chibimoon pelting Death Phantom with tiny little hearts. A fierce look was on her face as she stepped forward from the hazy light behind her. Death Phantom was unfazed; he threw down a bolt of lightning at her.

"Chibiusa!" Sailor Moon screamed in warning, but Chibimoon evaded the attack. She clenched her hands, staring up at Death Phantom.

"I don't know how the hell you're here," she said, her voice laced with fury as she pointed at him with a tiny wand, "but I won't forgive what you've done! In the name of the moon, I'm going to kick your ass! Pink sugar heart attack!"

"Silence glaive surprise!"

Both attacks flew at Death Phantom; Saturn didn't even look to see if they hit as she grabbed Chibimoon and pulled her back. The pink-haired teen gave her a smug smile, one she didn't reciprocate.

"You shouldn't be here," Saturn said sternly.

"And let you have all the fun?" Chibimoon turned her gaze to Death Phantom. "I need you to back me up."

"There's no convincing you otherwise, is there?" Try as she might, Saturn couldn't honestly be angry at her best friend.

"I owe this guy a lot," Chibimoon said, crouching to the ground. Saturn sighed, copying her movements. "Ready?"

Despite herself, Saturn couldn't help but smirk. Fighting alongside the other Senshi was completely different from fighting beside Chibimoon in that fighting with Chibimoon was actually thrilling—especially when Chibimoon was determined to pound someone's face in. "On your word."

"Go!"

Chibimoon flipped into the air, rushing at Death Phantom from above as Saturn launched another attack from below. Death Phantom aimed at both of them; Sailor Moon watched with wide, worried eyes. "Chibimoon, Saturn, don't!"

Large beams of energy struck Saturn straight-on; she barely had a barrier up at the last second. Chibimoon, however, had completely faked Death Phantom out. While Death Phantom had aimed above him to attack her, she let gravity take her down to the ground, beside Saturn. "Pink sugar heart attack!" she shouted.

This time, it hit him. The energy aimed at Saturn immediately disappeared; Saturn didn't waste time. "Death reborn revolution!"

"Sou en za!"

Chibimoon pulled Saturn out of the way, just as Ryo's surekill slammed into Death Phantom. It wasn't like anything she had ever seen—Ryo's power as well as Death Phantom's reaction. No noise escaped Death Phantom as Ryo's flames and Saturn's ribbons crawled up and struck at his floating body. She wasn't even sure if the attacks were working.

"Damn, he's strong," Chibimoon said, grinning. Saturn rolled her eyes.

"How did you get here anyway?"

"_Worm_ gave me a gift," she replied, wiggling her eyebrows at Saturn, knowing how much her friend didn't like him.

The two of them leapt out of the way, avoiding a narrow blow. Chibimoon slid to the knees on landing, grimacing. Beside her, Saturn switched her attention to Mercury, who was holding a hand to the bleeding wound on her side. "Mercury, hold still—"

"I'm fine," Mercury gasped, trying to stand, but it was Shin who forced her to sit back down.

"Don't strain yourself," he said calmly, looking her in the eyes. She nodded faintly, barely feeling Saturn's hands on her back.

"Shin—the crystal ball, aim for that again," Mercury said.

He swung out his yari. "Cho ryu ha!"

The attack hit the crystal ball square on. Chibimoon tried hard not to swoon at him; Saturn gave her a dry look, knowing exactly what she was thinking.

"Thanks for the tip," Shin said, giving Mercury a smile before he rushed back into the fray. He was quickly replaced by Touma, who kneeled down beside her.

"Mizuno," he said, his gaze fixed on the crystal ball. "He doesn't seem to be protecting it anymore. Something's up."

"What do you suggest?"

"I'm not sure," Touma admitted. He stood up, offering her his hand. She grasped it once she got a pat on the back from Saturn. "How close can you get?"

"Not close enough," Mercury murmured, chewing on her lip. She was thrown out of her thoughts when Jupiter and Pluto suddenly joined them.

"Okay, so this guy? Ten times tougher than before," Jupiter said, wiping at her cheek. "We need another way to get to him."

"Maybe there's no other choice," Mercury said. She looked troubled, activating her goggles. "I told Usagi not to use the Ginzuishou because of how much it strains her—"

"We don't have to use it," Jupiter said, agreeing. She jumped a bit when Saturn suddenly reached for her collar, which was bleeding more than she had realized. "Oh, Saturn—"

"Puu, you're hurt too!" Chibimoon exclaimed. In the midst of suddenly discovering injuries, they were unaware of a beam of energy heading straight towards them. By the time Touma had fixed an arrow and Saturn had raised her glaive, however, it was too late.

The attack, though, was deflected by a sickle on a chain.

"Kayura!" Shuten looked strained as he got to his feet. And there she was, garbed in his former armor, the sickle and chain in her hands. Behind her, the Mirror of the Youjakai glistened. "What are you—"

"I brought some help," she said matter-of-factly. "I figured out this mirror can create barriers. You look like you need one."

"Kayura, you said you would stay—"

"I said I'd protect my people," Kayura corrected Rajura, ignoring his indignation as she cut him off. The Mirror was slowly creating a barrier around them as she spoke. "Now, explain to me who he is."

Naaza would have thrown a fit if he weren't trying to avoid being blasted into bits.

"Kayura, you should _not_ be here," Shuten said, both of his hands on her shoulders. She puffed up her cheeks, ready to argue, but then Touma spotted her.

"Kayura!" he shouted in greeting, almost smiling before he turned back to shoot off an arrow. Shuten opened his mouth to reprimand the smug look on her face when Death Phantom spoke again.

"So all the pieces are here."

"Shut up you stupid fathead!" Chibimoon growled, pressing her gloves against the cut on Pluto's abdomen. Saturn was too busy healing a laceration on Jupiter's collar. The four of them were suddenly joined by Anubis, who grabbed Saturn's hand and pressed it to his forehead. His helmet had been knocked off.

"Heal me," he demanded.

Chibimoon stared as Saturn did what she was told. _No one_ told _her_ Saturn what to do. "Who the hell are you?" she asked, scowling. "Get your hands off of her."

Anubis turned his gaze to her flatly as Saturn sighed in exasperation. "Chibi—"

Then Anubis broke away and returned back to the battlefield. Chibimoon didn't even hesitate to run after him, tiny little wand clutched in her fists. Saturn quickly healed Jupiter before moving to Pluto; Pluto shook her head. "Save your strength."

"You'll bleed out."

"I'm fine," Pluto said. Jupiter got to her feet, brushing off her torn uniform.

"Pluto, what do you think?"

It was a moment before Pluto answered. The three of them watched as Mars and Ryo teamed up to launch a barrage of flames at Death Phantom; Death Phantom somehow managed to divert their attacks at Naaza, Venus and Uranus. At the same time, he let a bolt of energy fly at Sailor Moon. Shuten barely managed to grab her in time.

"Moon gorgeous meditation!" Chibimoon called out, and an array of pink butterflies flew from her wand. She had a moment of satisfaction as they pelted him—until he turned his body in her direction. She suddenly felt a chill overwhelm her body, one that wasn't from fear. "What—"

And the Jewel of Life, dangling around her neck, started pulsing. Her heart raced as it tore away from her, rising into the air. She reached out feebly, trying to grab it; instead her fingers grasped at air.

"The Jewel of Life," Death Phantom said as it reappeared beside him. The Troopers all stopped to stare.

"What on earth," Ryo said. Beside him, Shin swallowed.

"Something isn't right," Shin mumbled.

And then both katana in Ryo's hands faded. He couldn't even describe the shock he felt; he stared up at Death Phantom, watching as his katana—_his_ katana—reappeared next to the Jewel of Life.

"The Swords of Infinity."

"_What_?" Ryo stepped forward, but there was nothing he could do. He looked to Touma for answers; Touma, however, stared at the sky. "Touma—"

But Touma was too busy trying not to blame himself. He had been on the right track, he thought, spending his time researching. And he had given up halfway through. He watched helplessly as the barrier that Kayura had created suddenly shattered. The mirror she had brought appeared in the sky, completing the triangle of treasures.

"The Soulless Mirror," Death Phantom concluded. Venus's eyes widened.

"Mars—"

"No," Mars whispered. "It can't—this can't—"

Shuten grabbed her elbow, pulling her close. "What are you—"

"I thought it was—the talismans," she said, her eyes narrowed in apprehension. "I was focused on the Space Sword, Deep Aqua Mirror, and the Garnet Orb, not—"

"No!" Kayura shouted, picking up on what she was saying, but it was too late. The Mirror, the Jewel of Life and the Swords combined into one ball of energy; with a wave of his hand, Death Phantom sent the energy out at them. Sailor Moon was briefly aware of the Ginzuishou flying out of her brooch out of its will; a bright light encompassed her, shielding her from the attack.

Beside her, Ryo managed to throw up his arms to try to fend off the brunt of the attack. He felt himself be pushed back and tried to steady his stance. The armor was getting hotter, he thought. And it wasn't just him—feet away, Seiji felt his own armor pulse with warmth. Shin and Shuu were hit both head-on, but the oddest sensation filled them—it was as if Shin were being enveloped in water while the ground beneath Shuu seemed to rumble. On the other side of Sailor Moon, Touma felt a vast energy encapsulate him, absorbing the attack.

The wave of energy passed. Ribbons of light encircled Sailor Moon before she became Usagi and dropped to her knees. The Troopers regained their sense of balance, struggling to get to their feet. Had Suzunagi's armor protected them?

Seiji mulled over the thought only for the briefest of seconds before he realized—the Masho had surrounded Kayura, as if to protect her from the attack. But in front of them all, the Sailor Senshi—who had no armor to protect them, just the magic running through their bodies—had been caught unawares. Not even Saturn's barrier held against the attack. His mouth went dry as Sailor Mercury tumbled to the ground first, followed by Neptune, then Mars and Pluto—and one by one they all collapsed, and by the time he understood what had happened, Death Phantom charged another attack.

"No," Ryo said, and then there was silence.

* * *

**an** and so concludes part i of The Big Battle. also, thanks Windrave for the "nerd love" tip! i realize that there's sort of a theme in this chapter of "senshi self-doubt, troopers encouragement" and it really cheesed me out at first but i couldn't not do it. so! a few notes on this chapter regarding the direction of this chapter:

1 – minako. i wasn't sure how i wanted to proceed with this scene. it might seem uncharacteristic of her to freak out like that, but i had a few points to consider; she's separated from the person she's supposed to protect, death phantom is back, and one of her best friends had an inkling about the situation kept her mouth shut about it. i know her doubts about her leadership skills were sort of resolved in the manga, but i think having ryo around really tests her confidence. he understands what she's going through, though, and i think he'd be able to get through to her.

2 – nasuti and kayura. i know a lot people compare nasuti to mamoru (as in the "useless" character) but i think she's a real strong foundation for the team, hence a few of them thinking about protecting her even though she's technically safe for the time being. as for kayura, idk, she's great. i see her as like this annoying little sister that the masho pretend not to adore, but they secretly coddle her in their own special ways.

3 – chibiusa. didn't like her until i started writing this. now she's the best thing in the world and i have this great idea that she's a smart-mouthed little punk that loves rebelling against conformity. i can only imagine the trouble she could get hotaru into. as for her and jun, they could totally be a shoujo-manga on their own. it'd be the rough-and-tumble cute girl who falls for the goofy-yet-inwardly-complex kendo boy hahaha. oh, and yeah, i totally gave her moon gorgeous meditation.

4 – death phantom. i had toyed with this idea for awhile... when i first started writing, he was the main culprit behind everything. then i was like ew no i hate this guy, motive doesn't fit, plus he's gross, so i scrapped him. but then it was too late, all the pieces were set. so now he's back. same thing with the talismans. apologies if the plot is suddenly now super confusing x(

5 – touma and ami. i am not going to pretend that i know quantum theory. if that confused you, it was meant to. basically these two geeks have a scientific idea on how/why death phantom is still around and no one else cares haha. if you really want to know, PM me and i'll try to explain it as best as i can with my very limited knowledge V

6 – usagi. so while the guys have had their moments of doubt and depression in the message ova, sailor moon hasn't really addressed it that often (i think? correct me if i'm wrong). i really feel for usagi; she's got such a big heart and she really doesn't want anyone to sacrifice themselves for her, but that's what her friends are always doing. i think the prospect of an enemy returning would be enough to shake her out of being optimistic, and of course shuten is great enough to bring her back to reality—that they are warriors and death can happen at any time, but they are also strong enough to fight and survive.

7 – action. i am such a faker at writing action. i'm sorry.

the next chapter won't be as long. anyway, thank you for reading! almost there, guys!


	17. Chapter 16

**sixteen**

Usagi was briefly aware of Shuten standing in front of her, slamming his staff into the ground and blocking Death Phantom's attack. Even then she could still feel the energy fizzle through Shuten's defenses; little sparks of energy tickled her skin, causing the hair on her aim to stand straight. Beside her, Kayura held the sickle and chain out, baring her teeth.

"Shuten, tell me now how to properly use this armor because I would very much like to kick his ass," she said through gritted teeth. Shuten ignored her, focusing instead on containing the blast. Usagi slowly stood up, clutching at his arm.

"Let me out," she said. His eyes flicked at her briefly before he turned back to the scene in front of him. Almost immediately the Troopers had gotten to their feet. Kongo was the first to strike; he threw a surekill at Death Phantom—but the Youjakai Mirror came to life and then Kongo's attack was flying back at him. He was too shocked to react, and the surekill slammed into him, sending him flying back.

While the new armors had protected against Death Phantom's attacks, it did little to prevent harm from their own. Shuu dug his fingers into the dirt, trying not to cry out loud. He didn't imagine that was what it felt like to be on the receiving end of a 'gan tessai.' He struggled to his feet, breathing heavily.

"Shuu!" Ryo called out, at his side in an instant. He narrowed his eyes up at Death Phantom and the three treasures. His katana, he thought—he was useless without his katana. "Are you alright?"

"I'm stronger than I think," Shuu said, brushing off his armor. At least he knew they weren't invincible. "Damn it, what do we do? The Sailor Senshi—we can't—"

Just as he spoke, Shin and Seiji had both tried attacking Death Phantom. The Mirror's effects yielded the same result; both Troopers braced themselves as their own attacks hit them. Shin ended up several feet from where he had been originally standing, and Seiji was on the ground, his armor smoking.

"Those idiots," Naaza said, watching as the Troopers fell to their own attacks. "They don't have any brains—"

"How are we going to break through that barrier?" Anubis asked Rajura, whose eye was fixed on Death Phantom.

"I'm curious," Rajura said, but that was it. Kayura let out a frustrated growl, grabbing Shuten by the shoulder and spinning him around.

"You want us to just sit here and watch as our allies are being defeated?"

"Allies?" Naaza repeated, sharing a look with Anubis.

"Yes, our _allies_," Kayura snapped. "I don't know why you insist on thinking you're on some other team. If you hadn't noticed, Naaza, we're all trying to fight one person."

"Shuten," Usagi tried again, her eyes pleading. "Please, I can—"

"Your Ginzuishou will only be reflected against you," Shuten murmured, finally answering her. "You would get hurt."

"The Ginzuishou won't hurt me," Usagi said. She clutched her brooch, looking deeply into his eyes. "Please, Shuten. I need to—my _Senshi_—"

She broke off. Shuten looked startled for a moment as he cast his gaze over to where the Sailor Senshi lay.

"I need to protect them," Usagi said, her jaw clenched. The look was odd on such a delicate face. Shuten kept her gaze for a moment before he nodded and stepped aside. The rings on his staff clanged, and Usagi rushed out into the battlefield. Kayura flew after her.

"Is that smart?" Naaza asked.

"Smart or not," Anubis said, "that is our Empress that just ran after her."

"Babysitting," Rajura sighed, and the four of them hurried after Usagi and Kayura. They stopped short to avoid a reflected 'shin kuu ha.' Rajura couldn't help but appear annoyed. "For someone so wise, Tenkuu, you are being an idiot."

Touma didn't reply, aiming another arrow at the Jewel of Life. If he could knock it down, he thought, then maybe it would disrupt the other talismans. "Shin kuu ha!"

He was barely nimble enough to avoid his own arrow as it came flying back at him. Rajura gave him a look he promptly ignored.

Usagi, meanwhile, held up the Ginzuishou. Death Phantom laughed. "Your little trinket is nothing compared to my treasures. I will conquer you, Serenity, and I will take all three lands into the dark gate."

"Sailor Moon, I am here beside you," Kayura said, staring up at Death Phantom with cold eyes.

Usagi didn't respond as images of her Senshi flashed through her mind. They weren't dead, she thought. She still felt them—barely, which frightened her even more than death. The Ginzuishou pulsed with light; the Troopers all saw the opportunity and attacked at once.

Before the Ginzuishou could pour out its energy, the surekills came flying back, faster than before. Usagi squeezed her eyes shut. Please, she thought, protect me.

And the attacks never hit. Ryo stared at the figure in front of him, in her torn skirt and heels. Mars unleashed an arrow that cut through Shin's surekill, disintegrating it and protecting them. Bewildered, he looked over to Seiji to find that Jupiter had done the same thing. Shuten was standing in front of Usagi, blocking whatever attacks that would have hit her. "How..."

"Rei-chan! Mako-chan!" Usagi cried out, stepping forward. Shuten held her back.

"Not yet," he said calmly. There was a look in Mars's eyes that he noticed—a cocky glare sent straight up at Death Phantom. Had they figured something out?

"You're an idiot," Mars said plainly to Ryo. "Can't you see that everything is being deflected?"

"I thought—we thought—we thought you died," Ryo said, still reeling back from the shock of seeing her standing there.

"I _am_ dead," Mars said, piercing him with her gaze. Jupiter sighed as Ryo reached forward to touch Mars, as if confirming her words. His hand met solid shoulders. He stared.

"Now isn't the time to be joking, Mars," Jupiter said. She wondered briefly why her friend had the weirdest sense of humor. Mars just shrugged.

"Ready when you are." At Jupiter's nod, she turned back to Death Phantom. "Burning mandala!"

"Jupiter oak evolution!"

"Don't!" Seiji vainly warned them, but it was too late. Their attacks bounced off whatever energy the Youjakai talismans were putting off; rings of fire and razor-sharp leaves flew back at them. They avoided it easily. Unlike the surekills of the Troopers, these attacks weren't waves of energy. They were purposefully guided attacks, more versatile to their will.

"Did you see it?" Mars asked, landing deftly on her feet. Jupiter rolled her shoulder with a grin. It was as if they hadn't just been lying on the floor with their last breath.

"Barely."

"Let's do it, then." Mars drew an arc of flames in the air before pulling back an arrow. Jupiter flexed her hands, gathering a volley of lightning from the sky.

"It is useless," Death Phantom said, but the two of them only smirked. "You cannot break through—"

"Mars flame sniper!"

"Sparkling wide pressure!"

And instead of being reflected back, the attacks went through and pierced the crystal ball in front of Death Phantom. He didn't have a moment to react; behind him, Mercury drew out a harp.

"Mercury aqua rhapsody!"

The crystal ball was frozen, just as Venus ensnared it with a chain of hearts. She pulled it down to her waiting hands, holding it cockily to Death Phantom. Then she threw it on the ground with all her force. It shattered instantly; she stomped on it three times for good measure.

"Kiss my ass, Death Phantom!"

"How," Touma breathed. Mars narrowed her eyes as Death Phantom raised his arms. The Youjakai talismans burned bright.

"You are too late," he said. "With the talismans in my grasp, you cannot defeat me. That crystal ball is worthless now that I have the three objects."

"How do you think we got through the talismans?" Venus flipped to avoid an attack that the Swords had unleashed. Death Phantom was not amused at the taunting; he focused a blast at Mercury next.

"How did you—"

"The barrier is not constant," Mars explained to Touma, who was still trying to grasp the situation. She motioned towards the floating objects. "Mercury thought that the talismans were all transferring energy to each other, that's how that reflective barrier's made."

Touma nodded slowly. "I see—it's so simple. If they're transferring energy, then there has to be a gap somewhere. And your multi-range attacks allowed you to visualize these gaps."

"Gold star," Jupiter said, impressed with his ability to pick up the situation.

"You aim must be impeccable," Shin said, finally having caught his breath from an earlier attack.

"Of course it is," Mars said. Jupiter just gave him a grin and a wink. The moment was interrupted when the Jewel of Life pulsed and unleashed a storm of lights towards them. Jupiter leapt out of the way effortlessly; she wiped at her brow, glancing to where Shuten was shielding Usagi.

Usagi met her gaze and scrambled to her feet. "Mako-chan—"

"Stay behind me," Shuten said, holding out his staff. The rings clinked against each other as the staff blocked the attack. Kayura grabbed onto her hand.

"I have no idea what is going on," she said, trying to swallow the recent events that had just transpired, "but thank goodness for your warriors."

Usagi shook her head, unable to stop her tears. They were okay, she had to remind herself. They were more than okay; they were running around, throwing attacks at Death Phantom and ruining all of his plans. They were absolutely fine.

She couldn't just stand there and cry. Usagi held her hand up; the Eternal Tiare appeared in her hands, a crescent moon flickered onto her forehead, and her Sailor uniform appeared in ribbons of light. She aimed straight at Death Phantom.

"Silver moon crystal power kiss!"

The attack was reflected back at her; she dodged her own attack, rolling off to the side. She gathered her bearings by Ryo; he gave her a startled glance. "Usagi—"

"Hey, Death Phantom! Leave my Senshi alone!" Sailor Moon turned her face towards Death Phantom, who was facing her once again. The Jewel of Life bubbled with energy again. Sailor Moon bent her knees, ready to dodge at will. She aimed the Tiare at him, hands steady. But before Death Phantom could attack her, an army of tiny butterflies of light started slamming into the barrier. A few managed to randomly sneak through into the gaps, slapping against the folds of Death Phantom's cloak.

"That's gift from my boyfriend, asshole!"

And there was Chibimoon, sitting on Byakuen, charging into battle, with Saturn right behind her. She had her arm outstretched and one eye squinted as she aimed again. "Moon gorgeous mediation!"

"Byakuen!" Ryo called out, wondering what in the world was going on. Last he knew, Byakuen was staying with Seiji's family at the dojo. "What is he—"

"Smart cat you've got, he woke us all up," Uranus said, coming up from behind Seiji. They watched as Chibimoon successfully distracted Death Phantom from their true intention; Death Phantom blasted apart the land Byakuen was nimbly darting on. Chibimoon continued to pelt the talisman barrier with tiny little butterflies.

"Haruka—"

"You were very strong to last this long," Neptune said. Seiji wasn't sure if he was being made fun of or not. "Leave the rest to us."

"What do you mean, leave the rest—"

Shuu's words fell short as Pluto swung forward with her staff. "Garnet ball!"

The heart-shaped jewel atop her staff gleamed, and suddenly the light from Jewel of Life dissipated. It was as if the Jewel fell asleep. Death Phantom's hands stretched out, as if trying to coax it back awake; it fluttered to the floor, right into Chibimoon's hands.

"No!" he shouted. Uranus took aim next.

"Space sword blaster!"

The Swords toppled completely out of the sky. Ryo felt his heart leap as they fell towards the ground, embedding into the earth until only their hilts were seen. He started forward; Uranus stopped him, pulling him back. "Wait," she said, watching as Death Phantom lunged towards the Mirror.

"Submarine reflection!"

It couldn't be so easy. The reflective barrier shattered and the Mirror broke into a million pieces. Kayura started forward, but she was at a loss of what to say.

"Your cat gave us the answers," Uranus said. Her grin was almost feral as she flipped the Space Sword in her hand. "I was lying there, thinking that I was dead, you know. Then I felt something licking my face, and your kitten was pushing my talisman in my hand. Suddenly Michiru was like, 'that's it!' and we all understood."

"I don't," Ryo said, still unable to believe anything. "How is—"

"It might seem like it's too simple," Neptune said on Ryo's other side, her eyes fixed on Death Phantom. The Guardian Senshi were positioned as corners of a square around them. "It actually is. As much as our talismans can defeat them, the Youjakai talismans can easily defeat ours. We just had to move first."

"Mercury crystal power!"

"Mars crystal power!"

"Jupiter crystal power!"

"Venus crystal power!"

Thin beams of light flew up from each Senshi, entrapping Death Phantom inside a pillar. Their tiaras disappeared, replaced by the insignia of their planets. Death Phantom roared. "This trick will only work once! I defeated you in Crystal Tokyo and I can defeat you now!"

It was Venus who met Sailor Moon's eyes and nodded. She knew at once what to do. At the sight of her friends looking so determined, Sailor Moon took in a shaky breath and held her hands in front of her chest. The Ginzuishou glimmered. "Kayura," she said. "Seiji, Shuten—everyone, please—"

She didn't have to speak. Anubis had already swung his sword out, and Naaza was following his lead.

"Ankoku chohigiri!"

"Tochimou!"

"Ja ga ken!"

Sailor Moon was briefly aware of Chibimoon suddenly grasping her hand. She smiled down at her, whose strong eyes glared at Death Phantom. The Masho's attacks scattered through the perimeter of the Guardian Senshi's barrier.

"Together," Chibimoon said as the Pink Moon Crystal floated out of her brooch.

Ryo, in front of them, pulled his katana out of the ground. He looked them over for a moment, his eyes tracing over every detail. Suzunagi had crafted these, he thought—and it was a Youjakai talisman. Had she done that intentionally?

In one swift motion, he connected the hilts. He still didn't understand the armor—its capabilities, what he could do with it—but something inside of him knew that he wouldn't be let down. "Choudando sou en zan!"

"Choudando shin kuu ha!"

"Choudando gan tessai!"

"Choudando cho ryu ha!"

"Choudando rai ko zan!"

Seiji's surekill slammed into the collage of attacks, breaking through Death Phantom's defense. Sailor Moon raised her hands in the air, glaring up at Death Phantom. This was for her friends, she thought desperately—for everyone back on Earth. She couldn't let any of them die.

The Ginzuishou burst into a shock of light. Beside her, Chibiusa had raised the Pink Moon Crystal and was calling on its own power. Death Phantom tried one last attempt at throwing them off; he countered their power with a blast of his own, drawing strength from the dark gate behind him.

He didn't plan on Shuten throwing his staff again, or Kayura calling on the power of her armor, or Uranus, Neptune and Pluto striking forward with their talismans. Saturn seized the chance to close the gate; with Byakuen's help, she leapt into the air and grabbed at the edges of the rip. It sealed itself as she fell back towards the ground.

"No!" Death Phantom cried out, realizing what had happened. Usagi let out one final burst of energy from the Ginzuishou, and a single beam of light pierced him.

Death Phantom collapsed onto the ground, the robes falling back to reveal a skull. Seiji suppressed a shudder at the chill it gave him; he tried not to focus on the chattering teeth. Sailor Moon was breathless as the Ginzuishou twinkled in her hands. She watched apprehensively as his hands, now bony and gnarled, grasped at air. "I will not—not again—"

Venus was first to react; she broke the Guardian Senshi's barrier and flew forward. Before Ryo could even blink, she had grabbed the Infinity Swords from his hands and plunged them straight into folds of Death Phantom's cloak. He screamed, writhing as his body started swirling into dust around the katana. "Never! I will come back! Wretched Sailor Senshi—"

And then Pluto held up her staff. A large door appeared, ornate and magnificent—the same from their battle with Badamon earlier, Shuu realized. Its doors loomed open and Death Phantom's ashes were pulled straight in. "Dark dome close."

The space-time door shut, drowning out the sound of desperation. For a moment his screams echoed in their minds; then the rings on Shuten's staff jingled and everyone snapped out of their stupor.

"How can we be sure he won't come back?" Touma asked, still staring at the spot where Death Phantom had disappeared. "Is there any way—"

"He won't," Pluto said firmly. "I will make sure of that."

Venus, meanwhile, held the Infinity Swords out to Ryo. "Here," she said with a wink as Ryo accepted them. "Thanks for the help."

Ryo accepted, feeling nothing but the weight of the katana. He turned them over, inspecting every edge. There was nothing special—no engraving, no power within them, and yet they were the Swords of Infinity... He gave Venus a brief smile, one she reciprocated beautifully.

Sailor Moon didn't waste any more time; she threw her arms around Mercury, her face alight with relief. "I'm so glad—I'm so glad you guys are—I had thought—"

Seiji pulled off his helmet, sharing a glance with Shin. The two of them grinned at each other. "It's over," Seiji said.

"It's over," Shin repeated faintly.

"It's over!" Shuu hooted, scrambling to his feet. He had knocked himself over with the force of his own attack. Beaming, he threw his arms around Jupiter. "Kino, we did it!"

Jupiter laughed, trying to pull away. "Of course we did! What else did you think?"

"I was so _scared_," Sailor Moon was saying, trying to wipe her eyes. It was no use; the tears poured down relentlessly. Neptune's bottom lip quivered before she, too, burst into tears. "M—michiru-san!"

"It's nothing!" Neptune choked out, her words muffled. She buried her face in Uranus's shoulder. Uranus froze, looking quite unsure of what to do. "It's—it's the hormones!"

Everyone stared. Uranus looked like she wanted to cry herself. "M—michiru, come on, it's okay—"

"I know it's okay! I can't help it!" Neptune slapped Uranus on the chest. Uranus turned to Pluto, mouthing, "Help me." Pluto promptly ignored her.

"I'm so glad you're all okay," Sailor Moon cried, her arms still around Mercury. Mercury patted her back, smiling gently.

"Of course we're okay, Usagi."

"You think we'd leave you alone after Galaxia?" Venus said fondly, tackling Sailor Moon and Mercury in a hug. "Yeah right!"

"I was so—I love you guys," Sailor Moon bawled, clutching at Venus. Jupiter, teary herself, joined in the huddle. She pulled Mars in; Mars looked for a moment like she wanted to struggle, but it was no use fighting against Jupiter. She gave in and slipped her arms around them.

"Quit crying, Odango," she grumbled, although she was laughing. Then her smile abruptly fell when Shuu enveloped them all in his own arms.

"Ladies!" he cried out, grinning as Venus and Sailor Moon squealed.

"Shuu, you're squishing us!" Sailor Moon cried out, giggling. Chibimoon took this opportunity to abruptly cut into their hug.

"Hey, Orange, off my girls," she said. Shuu stepped back, hands in the air.

"Whatever you say, ma'am," he said obediently—before he suddenly grabbed her in a bear hug. "Man, Jun's so lucky to have you! You kicked ass out there!"

Chibimoon, who had initially struggled, suddenly made shiny big eyes at him. "You really think so?"

"Yeah! Pink butterflies, who would've thought?"

"I know, right! Totally throws them off their game! Isn't it genius?"

"The best," Shuu said, giving her an exaggerated wink. She giggled, Venus made gagging motions and Jupiter rolled her eyes. Shuu let go of Chibimoon, propping his elbow on Jupiter's shoulder. "So, how are we gonna celebrate?"

"We?" Jupiter asked, looking amused.

"Of course 'we'," Shuu grinned. "From what I remember, you owe me a bowl of ramen."

"Ramen?" Sailor Moon asked, perking up immediately. She looked from Jupiter to Shuu, her hands clenched in tiny excited fists. "Can we? Can we can we? We've never had celebratory ramen, it's always cake or ice cream—I mean, we can still get cake and ice cream on top of it, but can we try ramen?"

"Sure thing," Jupiter said, laughing as Sailor Moon clasped her hands together excitedly. Shuu looked faintly bothered at the mixture of ramen, ice cream and cake—until he realized that Sailor Moon might have been a world-class chef in disguise. That combination didn't actually sound too bad.

"We thought you'd—well, died," Shin admitted to Pluto. Pluto looked momentarily surprised before he elaborated. "After that first blast from the talismans."

"Well, we didn't," Pluto said, smiling. "Saturn's 'silent wall' took most of the attack. We only were hit with the after-effects."

"It still freakin' hurt," Venus said. She had peeled off her gloves completely, as they were torn and useless. For a second she eyed her fellow Guardian Senshi—Jupiter's collar and skirt were barely hanging on, Mercury's uniform had no ribbons, and Mars's entire back was crusted with dried blood. Then she turned back to the others. Aside from the wound on Pluto's abdomen, they hardly looked like they were in battle. Tousled around, maybe, as if they had been working out or sparring—but not in a life-or-death battle.

Just as she thought that, Uranus tossed her hair. She shared a private look with Neptune, whose smile seemed to be glowing. Beside them, Seiji blinked and recoiled from the rose petals that slowly drifted from the sky.

"That is _so_ not fair," Venus grumbled, picking at her mess of a uniform. She always did think a Power Rangers outfit would have been better...

"I don't think we could have beaten him without you," Ryo admitted. He was running his hands through Byakuen's fur, glad to be reunited with his old friend (even if he still had no idea how Byakuen got there). "We never would have picked up on the talismans—"

"That's because _we_ are smart," Uranus said, eyebrows raised. Shin and Seiji only laughed, knowing she was teasing. "While you guys were busy wasting everything you got on him, we were testing the waters, saving our strength."

"You took care of the situation well," Seiji commented. Honestly, though, he felt that maybe the Troopers hadn't really done much. It was as if the Sailor Senshi only needed them to function as little distractions while they took down Death Phantom. The second that thought crossed his mind, he shook it away. That wasn't right, he thought. They _all_ defeated Death Phantom.

"It was almost a good thing he got a hold of the talismans," Pluto murmured, her eyes flicking to Kayura. The Empress was scolding the Masho for some reason or other, just outside of the group. Rajura looked bored, Anubis wasn't paying attention and Naaza was pretending to listen. Shuten, on the other hand, was interrupting Kayura every other second, trying to tell her how to properly scold them. "Otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to take the crystal ball from him."

"Speaking of the talismans," Mars spoke up. Sailor Moon turned to her, half-smiling; Mars let out a sigh, looking elsewhere. Ryo's gaze, which had brightened considerably now that the threat was gone, somehow calmed her. Wait—calmed her? Mars scowled, not liking the thought at all.

"What about the talismans?" Touma prodded, curious as to what she knew. He had his arms slung over Shin's and Seiji's shoulders.

"Nothing," Mars said quietly. "Just—I knew."

"Knew what?" Sailor Moon asked, blinking. Mars sighed, thinking that Sailor Moon was making it hard. She always did.

"I had a vision and I thought it might've been the talismans," she said, barely moving her lips. Touma was torn between thinking that she looked like a scolded child and that she was an idiot for not telling anyone. To his surprise, there was hardly a negative reaction.

"You're so cool," Sailor Moon said enthusiastically, without any trace of sarcasm. She clasped her hands and shoved her face at Mars. "Can you teach me how to meditate, Rei-chan?"

"What? Are you—" Mars looked taken aback. "I lied about these visions."

"But," Sailor Moon said, the sparkles disappearing for a second. "But that's what you do."

"Mars," Mercury spoke up, smiling slightly. "While I'm upset that maybe you knew, this isn't something that surprises us. You're you. You have your reasons, and we won't press them. You always do what's right in the end."

Mars turned to Venus, her gaze accusing. Venus had the grace to look slightly ashamed. "Hey," she said, shoulders shrugged, "heat of the moment?"

Seiji couldn't help but chuckle as Mars promised her to repay her for earlier. Venus huffed, flipping her hair over her shoulder and crossing her arms.

"That's a good imitation of Hino," Shin said, at which Mars turned her scowl at him.

"_We_ work great together," Shuu was saying to Jupiter as Sailor Moon nodded fervently. Mercury, now lingering at the edge of the group, glanced away, busying herself with vitals scans. Touma caught the look on her face.

"You feel the same?"

"Hm?" Mercury blinked a few times. She followed his gaze to where their comrades were complimenting each other. A little smile perked up her lips. "Well, I suppose I disagree a little."

"It's true," Touma said, not taking offense. "We fought more as two individual teams against one enemy rather than two teams working together."

"There's room for adjustments," Mercury said quietly. Touma watched her for a moment before he nudged her. She blinked again, startled. "What?"

"Just that you were right."

Mercury furrowed her brows. "On—on what?"

"You know, the whole Jupiter and Ryo thing."

Touma laughed when Mercury started blushing. "Oh, that, I—it's alright, I mean, you don't have to—it was a silly bet—"

"I don't go back on my word," Touma said. He sighed, glancing at her hands, which were clutching the supercomputer. "Although I wish I could have played around with that."

He blinked when Mercury suddenly shoved the supercomputer under his nose.

"Mizuno—"

"Hurry before I change my mind!" she said in a rush, cringing. Touma took a split second to grab the supercomputer and pop it open. His eyes lit up.

"Wow, Mizuno, what language is this in?"

She watched with one open eye as he started pressing buttons with his big, clunky fingers. Her poor baby looked so awkward in other people's hands, she thought. But then he started navigating through menus quickly, apparently knowing what he was doing. Mercury opened her other eye, peering over his shoulder to see what he was doing.

He had activated the memory storage. She watched his face as he tilted his head and squinted. "Can you read that?" Mercury asked hesitantly.

"I'm not quite sure. My German is a little rusty."

Mercury laughed, gently taking the supercomputer back. As she sorted through the menus to change the language options, Touma realized that Shuu and Shin were both staring at him. Once he made eye contact, they grinned at him cheekily. He stored that image away for later as he glanced around. "Perhaps we should head back to the Youjakai," he suggested.

At this, Kayura glanced over. She nodded. "Yes, let's. You can teleport us all back?"

"How did you get here in the first place?" Naaza asked, looking at her suspiciously. She feigned innocence.

"I am _Empress_," she said with a shrug, making her way towards the group. It was a matter of minutes before they all assembled; she stood in the middle of the circle of Senshi, a pouch with the shards of the Mirror clutched in her hands. They had won, she thought. They had won. But she hardly had done a thing... No matter what Pluto said about the Youjakai talismans being a blessing in disguise, she had been the one to bring the Mirror. She had almost killed everyone.

As if he could read her thoughts, Shuten touched her shoulder briefly. He said nothing, but he didn't need to. She sighed, letting out her doubts.

And then they were all whisked away, into the sky and back to the Youjakai.

x

Nasuti buried her face in her hands as she sat on the edge of the shrine's floor. Her hair tumbled over her shoulders as she tried to stop her heart from hammering out of her ribcage. She was a wreck, she knew it; ever since the Troopers and the Sailor Senshi had left, she couldn't stop worrying.

So when Jun found her and told her that the Jewel of Life had suddenly transported his girlfriend somewhere, she almost lost it. She grabbed him by the ear, demanded that he tell her everything, and then hurried to the shrine.

Grandpa Hino was still away on his trip. Though the shrine was technically closed, it was still available for self-serve. Nasuti herself had hastily scrawled a message on a wooden block and hung it beside the others. Jun did the same. The two of them stood for a moment, reading their messages (safety from Nasuti, strength from Jun) before they both sat down, side-by-side, and stared.

Jun was far calmer than she was, Nasuti realized. That itself was odd. Maybe kendo had done more than boost his self-esteem. She peeked a glance at him, seeing his stony face stare at the entrance of the shrine. He was sitting calmly, his posture relaxed, but she knew he was as worried as she was. He just was handling it better.

When had that happened? Nasuti ran a hand through her hair, sitting up straight. On her other side, leaning against the edge of the floor, was the yari she had brought along. It had been instinctive of her to grab it as they rushed out of her home; now that she was clearly thinking, she had no idea why. Sure, the Troopers had been teaching her how to use it, but it wasn't like she had been able to put it through practice. And it wasn't as if danger was coming their way.

Jun suddenly sighed, and all calmness disappeared in an instant. "I hate sitting around and waiting."

"Jun—"

"I never should have given it to her," he continued to moan. He pulled at his hair, turning a pathetic face to Nasuti. "What if she's hurt? What if—what if something happens? What do I do?"

"Stop that," Nasuti said, taking his hands and firmly placing them at his sides. She smoothed out his hair, shaking her head. "Weren't you just telling me twenty minutes ago that I should believe in them?"

"But—"

"Chibiusa is a strong girl."

Jun's lips pulled down, but he turned around to face the entrance again. After a moment he mussed up his hair in aggravation. The crows perched atop the tori started to ruffle their feathers. "What are we even here?"

"I'm not sure," Nasuti admitted. She slowly ran her fingers down the length of her yari. It was a beautiful thing, taken from her grandfather's storage. It had lived most of its life as a relic; she didn't feel like her clumsy jabs and swings when sparring did it any justice. "I just thought... we could be there for them to get back."

"You mean be there for Seiji-niichan?" Jun laughed when Nasuti stared blankly at him. She really didn't get it.

"What do you mean?" Nasuti finally asked, though she was wondering if she really wanted to know. Jun just gave her a wily grin.

"Maybe if you weren't so caught up with Shuten—"

Nasuti did not hesitate to yank his ear.

"Ow—ow ow ow!" Jun whined, wriggling out of her grasp. "Jeez, I was just joking!"

It was about a half hour later when Mamoru came hurrying up the steps. His brow furrowed when he spotted the two, but he greeted them nonetheless (even if he still thought Jun was Nothing But Trouble).

"Chiba," Nasuti said, standing up. She saw his eyes glance at the yari, but he said nothing. "What are you doing here?"

"Same as you, I suppose." He briefly rubbed his chest, looking momentarily uneasy. "I felt them..."

"Felt them?"

"The Ginzuishou," Mamoru murmured. Just minutes ago, in the middle of his studies, he had felt the Golden Crystal flare up inside him. It was his connection to Usagi, he realized. He wasn't sure at all what it meant, but he found it hard to be sitting around studying respiratory diseases when the Golden Crystal kept pulsing.

"I see," Nasuti said after a moment. She sat back down, lowering her gaze to the ground. Mamoru hesitated before he took a seat next to Jun. Jun struggled for a moment before he decided to speak.

"Nice jacket," he said. Mamoru blinked.

"Thanks," he replied, eyes narrowed in suspicion. Before he could figure out the kid's true motives, there was a flash of light. The wind started rustling the trees; Mamoru sprang to his feet, his eyes on the circle of light.

And there they were, the Sailor Senshi and Samurai Troopers—all looking worn and tired, but Mamoru didn't care. He opened his arms, just as Usagi crashed right into him. "Mamo-chan!"

"Usako, you did it," he said gently, holding her close. "I knew you could. I felt it."

"You felt it?" Usagi peered up at him with wide eyes. "What do you mean?"

"The Ginzuishou. I felt the Golden Crystal respond to it."

"Oh, Mamo-chan," Usagi sighed as Minako faked puking in the background.

"Nasuti!" Ryo called out, breaking out of the group. He rushed towards her, beat only by Shuu, who grabbed her around the middle and lifted her, spinning in a circle. She didn't have time to react before suddenly she was in Shin's arms. "Nasuti, we did it!"

"I was so worried," Nasuti laughed, ruffling Shin's hair playfully. Jun suddenly rammed into them all, throwing his arms around Seiji first.

"What happened?!" he exclaimed, eyes bright. "What'd you do? How'd it go? You kicked his ass, right?"

"Hey, one question at a time," Touma said, nudging his shoulder. "And of course we kicked his ass—"

"Touma!" Nasuti scolded. "Watch your language—"

"Byakuen?!" Jun exclaimed, spotting the tiger. He roared with laughter, scrambling over to throw his arms around Byakuen. Byakuen licked his face playfully. "What's going on? Where'd Byakuen come from?"

"Say, Chibiusa," Makoto said, leaning down to whisper in the teenager's ear. "Weren't you waiting to reunite with your little friend?"

"What?" Chibiusa scowled, crossing her arms. She glanced at Jun, whose eyes were alight with excitement as Shuu started relaying details of the battle. "As if!"

"Oho," Minako said conspiratorially in her other ear. "From what _I_ remember, you were yelling at Death Phantom—something about 'my boyfriend gave me that gift,' no?"

"Oh leave her alone," Ami said, shaking her head; she squeaked when both Makoto and Minako were suddenly in her face.

"Sure, we'll leave her alone," Makoto said.

"We'll pick on _you_ instead," Minako cackled. "I saw you making your move, Mizuno, you're slicker than we thought—"

"What are you—"

Ami was thankfully saved from further embarrassment when Shuu started motioning at the Senshi. Jun's eyes widened. "No way," he said, his lips slowly forming a grin.

"Believe me," Shuu said, eyebrows raised. "She's a keeper, dude. I don't know what she sees in you, but you're lucky."

The next thing Chibiusa knew, Jun was at her side, jabbering away in her ear and asking her for details on how she single-handedly took down Death Phantom.

"So, so so," Usagi said, looping her arms through Ryo's and Seiji's. Seiji tried not to look uncomfortable, especially when she smiled brightly at him. "Ramen, cake and ice cream?"

"Ramen, cake and ice cream!" Shuu hollered in agreement. Makoto shook her head, wondering what her instructors would think if they heard the idea.

"Ramen, cake and ice cream," she repeated with a sigh. "Their stomachs must be made of steel."

The group slowly made their way to the exit. Rei paused a moment as Phobos and Deimos greeted her fondly, pecking at her gently. She smiled as they rested on her arm; Shuu made a face.

"Hey, crow lady—"

Makoto quickly slapped her hands over his mouth, grinning nervously. "Rei-chan! Coming?"

Rei fixed Shuu with a dark look as Phobos and Deimos took to the sky. "Coming," she said pleasantly, but as she passed Shuu, he swore she muttered under her breath, "I wonder which way I should curse him for eternity."

Shuu stopped dead in his tracks. Touma gave him an inquisitive glance. "What's up?"

"She—I—" He looked at Rei, who was smiling expectantly. The memory of slaving around the shrine came to mind and he shook his head wildly. "Nothing, nothing, nevermind!"

"Well, have fun, kids," Haruka said, stretching her arms in the air. Beside her, Hotaru sighed inaudibly. Although Kayura had invited them to stay in the Youjakai for at least a day longer, they had all decided against it. They couldn't afford to stay any longer than they already had; Hotaru herself had a month of school to catch up on.

Kayura surprised everyone when she gave each other the Troopers warm hugs, thanking them profusely. In turn, they managed to cordially compliment the Masho on their teamwork during the battle; Naaza rolled his eyes, Anubis snorted and Rajura just stared at them. Shuten, however, smiled and accepted their gratitude, commending them on their strength.

Then he said his own farewells. It had been a bittersweet moment—Kayura's eyes watered, but she smiled nonetheless. Anubis punched him on the shoulder and Naaza elbowed him in the gut, but it was Rajura who clasped his shoulder and smirked. They didn't say anything—they didn't need to say anything.

Then Shuten shocked everyone when he took Rei's hand and kissed it. She stared at him as if he had tried to eat his own foot, but no one missed the blush on her cheeks. "A shame that I'm dead," he said, and she scowled.

"Just get out of here," she said, trying to ignore Usagi and Minako squealing and clutching each other as the Troopers gaped. Kayura only clasped her hands together in excitement as the remaining Masho rolled their eyes.

"As you wish," Shuten said, raising his staff. He lingered just a moment longer to tell the Troopers, "Tell Nasuti and the boy farewell," before he disappeared in a flurry of lights.

Hotaru was brought to the present as Usagi approached them. "Haruka-san, you guys aren't coming?"

"Nah," Haruka said, patting her head. She winked. "We need a vacation. Spain sounds good right about now."

"Spain," Touma repeated with raised eyebrows.

"You guys just—go to Spain?" Shuu elaborated with disbelief. Haruka just shrugged as Michiru giggled behind a hand. Minako just huffed.

"And they never invite us, either," she said.

"Speak for yourself," Makoto said, nudging her in the side. "Bring me back some good recipes, alright?"

"Of course," Michiru said.

"And boys!" Usagi suddenly gushed. At this, Minako and Makoto both brightened up while Rei rolled her eyes. "Bring back some boys for my girls, okay?"

Michiru wisely kept her mouth shut, but she glanced pointedly at Ami. Ami blushed to the roots of her hair. Haruka caught this and started chuckling. "Let's get out of here before we get caught in these crazy love affairs."

Setsuna took a moment to say goodbye to Shin (he ignored the way Ryo and Shuu were smirking at him) before she followed after her sister senshi. Hotaru gave Chibiusa a brief hug (all the while glaring at Jun) before she also took her leave with them. Ryo watched her go for a second, recalling her farewells to the Masho. Anubis has said something about a kiss, which caused Naaza to wrestle him to the ground; that left Kayura to hug the girl tightly (everyone wondered if she was ever going to let go) before Rajura patted her head. He didn't know what any of it meant, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to know.

"So," he said, turning back to the rest of them, trying not to laugh when he saw Minako attached to an awkward Seiji's arm, "where can we find a place that serves ramen, cake and ice cream all together?"

While everyone debated over a place, Ami's voice piped up, "More importantly, where can we go that will allow a tiger?"

* * *

**an **ahhh apologies if all of this is just coming out all at once and confusing you! i've had this battle drafted up for awhile now, but i never really got to _write_ anything bc i was dreading it, even though this is supposed to be like The Big Point of the Story and whatnot (i'm conflicted bc i'm not sure, is it too anti-climatic? is it all over the place?! ;;;;; ). the next few chapters will deal more with the after-effects (ie; how the troopers handle it vs the senshi) and the new-found friendships ("friendships" bahahaha). this also _might_ be the last you see of the masho and kayura, boo ;(

anywho! a few more specific notes:

1 – battle style. what touma and ami said about their "working together" being more like two teams attacking one enemy instead of truly working together is what i had been aiming for in this Big Battle. i felt that while it's great that two super teams come together, their ability to actually fight together would be like non-existent haha hence the sort of disconnected feel between this chapter and the last. their fighting styles and the way they approach situations are so different, but there is always the possibility of further team-ups to develop that "teamwork" aspect (ooh does that mean sequel?! bahaha maybe not yet -.-).

2 – shuu and rei. i almost wish they were siblings; that'd be a drama to watch.

3 – is byakuen a boy. or. idk ;;;;;

that's all. haha thank you for sticking with me thus far! ^^ xo


	18. epilogue i

**seventeen**

"Man," Shuu complained for the eighth time since he had opened his book, "I'm bored."

Shin debated whether or not he wanted to respond. After a moment, he sighed. "Maybe you should start on another subject."

"I didn't bring another subject," Shuu said as he idly flipped through pages. "Let's call it quits for today and go train or something."

"Shuu," Shin said, shaking his head as his own eyes returned to his book, "we've only been here for fifteen minutes."

"That's fifteen minutes too long." Shuu closed the book and tossed it aside. He stretched his arms before falling back and yawning loudly. Above them, the large tree swayed in the breeze. He watched as a few petals fell from the branches and started swirling in the wind.

Around them, in clusters around other trees, students were having picnics and enjoying the last of the cherry blossoms. When Shin had invited him to Shinjuku Gyoen, he had assumed that they would be doing the same thing. He made a face as he sat back up, running a hand through his hair and giving Shin a dry look. "Tell me again why we're studying when we should be having fun."

"Because your grades are slipping," Shin said bluntly, not taking his eyes off his page. "I figured I could help you out."

"Alright, _Touma_," Shuu teased. "Except for the fact that you're studying biology and I'm studying business."

"Speaking of Touma, he said he'd be here soon." Shin glanced at his watch, noticing the time. It was just before noon. "Ryo and Seiji won't make it until later."

Great, Shuu thought. A freaking study party under the trees. How romantic. He heaved another sigh, falling onto his back once more. "Wake me up when Touma's here, he can explain this stuff better than my professors."

"Hm," Shin said, turning a page. Shuu was then left to his thoughts, which he found to be running more rampant ever since the battle with Death Phantom.

He closed his eyes, trying to block out the image of Badamon being torn to shreds. His mind focused instead on replaying the memory of Ryo and Jupiter being trapped by crystal, having their energy drained from them. He opened his eyes, unable to stop the dread from filling his entire body. This was the worst part, he thought. They were at peace now, and still he couldn't stop reliving their battles.

So he tried to think instead about school. He almost felt the headache coming on; while he wasn't an idiot, he didn't particularly enjoy school. Ryo was probably the only one who felt the same. Touma, of course, was enamored with learning, and Seiji and Shin were both genuinely interested in their own studies. Shuu wasn't sure how he felt about studying business in order to stake his claim on one of the family restaurants, but he also didn't have many other options.

He wondered if maybe Seiji shared even a bit of the same sentiments. The two of them were similar, in a way. There was no way Seiji was not going to take over the dojo. He might have had other interests, but his future had already been decided. The only difference, though, was that Seiji had chosen a major he particularly enjoyed—Eastern philosophy.

"Are you studying or sleeping?"

Shuu sat upright, unable to stop from grinning as he fixed the sharp voice to the equally sharp image of Hino Rei. She gave him a weird look as she took a seat Shin offered her.

"Just dreaming of you," Shuu joked. Rei only stared at him until he scratched his cheek. "Sorry."

"It's been awhile," Shin said, smiling pleasantly at her. "We've seen much of Aino and Kino, but hardly any of you or Mizuno."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about seeing Makoto," Shuu butted in (here Rei mentally rolled her eyes at how 'Kino' became 'Makoto' to him), "but I might be a little offended that you can't even come out to dinner with the guys you saved the world with."

"It _is_ a little discouraging," Shin added, seeing the disgruntled look slowly appear on Rei's face. "After all, some of us might find you charming."

"Too bad it's one-sided," Rei grumbled, knowing full well that the two of them were only trying to get under her skin. Shuu she had expected, but Shin was a rather new development. Somewhere in the month since defeating Death Phantom, he had decided, like Haruka and Shuu, that ruffling Rei's feathers was the most amusing past time. The only reason she hadn't stuck her heel in his throat was only because she knew she wouldn't hear the end of it from Minako and Makoto.

"What do you even study anyway?" Shuu asked curiously, glancing at the covers of the books she had taken from her bag. He had expected to see books on black magic and farming. His eyebrows rose when he read one of the covers. "'Changing Politics in Japan'?"

At her silence, Shin also glanced over. True to Shuu's words, her study materials consisted of historical and philosophical dissections of major political leaders. "Hino, you attend Meiji, right? Is it a tough program?"

"Of course not," Rei dismissed easily as she waved the question away. Shin couldn't help but think back to when he, Ryo and Shuu had first decided to confront her. It almost seemed like years ago; she was like an entirely different person. On the surface level, the flippant attitude was still there. But while before she honestly didn't care about them, now he was under the impression that she maybe enjoyed their company. Maybe.

"Of course not," Shuu repeated, shaking his head. He couldn't imagine Rei ever admitting something was difficult. Before he could say anything more, he spotted Seiji and Makoto approaching them. His eyes lit up and he sat up even straighter.

"Hey you guys, look who I brought," Makoto greeted cheerfully. Seiji laughed as he set the bags he was carrying down by Shuu.

"We ran into each other at the entrance," he explained. "Ryo and Touma aren't here yet?"

"Not yet," Shin replied. "Mizuno also said she was running late, her cram session was longer than she thought."

"Well," Makoto said as she gestured at the bags. "I know we're here to study, but I thought we could take a break eventually so I made lunch."

"You," Shuu said, opening the nearest bag and pulling out a bento, "are the absolute best."

"The way to a man's heart. Are you trying to seduce us?" Shin quipped. He chuckled as Makoto blushed.

"Don't be silly," Makoto mumbled, scratching her cheek. "I'm only trying to get you, Mouri."

"Hey!" Shuu exclaimed, but he started laughing when Shin faked embarrassment. Seiji peacefully took his seat next to Shuu, pulling out his own books.

"How are your studies, Shuu?"

"They're _not_," Shuu wittily replied, picking up his lonely business book. "I don't get why I have to go through all of this, I already know how to run a restaurant."

"Oh?" Makoto peeked over his shoulder. She blinked at the book. "What do you mean, are you opening a business?"

"Er," Shuu said. He was quite unaccustomed to telling people that his family owned a successful chain of restaurants and that one day he would inherit the throne. As far as Makoto knew, he only had a few chefs in the family; he wasn't sure how she would react to the idea that a restaurant was just going to fall into his lap when she was working so hard in culinary school. Thankfully Shin, knowing that he was uncomfortable with flaunting his status around, came to his rescue.

"You should write your own book," Shin said with a grin. "'How to Eat Restaurants Out of Business.'"

"Ha ha, you are hilarious," Shuu commented dryly as he cracked the book open. "Makoto doesn't mind when I eat all her food—"

"She's just being polite," Shin countered. Makoto nodded sagely, supporting him.

"That's true, it'd be rude if I invited you over for dinner then get angry when you actually eat."

"You guys are so mean." Shuu turned abruptly to Rei, who was looking too amused at the teasing. "Hino-chan is all I have, right?"

Rei glanced down and turned a page in her book. Shuu's bright smile fell when she didn't even acknowledge his words.

"All of you," he grumbled as he listlessly picked up his book. Seiji had already tuned them all out, breaking into his own homework. "All of you are against me."

It was a half hour later when Touma showed up with an armful of books. He greeted everyone cordially, setting the books down; then he did a double-take. "Oh, Hino, you're here."

"I was invited," Rei said bluntly, wondering if he had decided to join Shuu and Shin in the teasing.

Touma laughed, settling down next to her comfortably. "No, I didn't mean it like that. It's just been awhile. You've been busy since our battle."

"Mm," Rei said, still unsure. She narrowed her eyes. He grinned toothily.

"How is the shrine?" Touma cracked open one of his books, peeking at the end. He had brought several mystery novellas instead of his schoolwork; the schoolwork had been finished long ago.

"Fine," Rei answered. The suspicious faded away and for a moment she looked troubled. "Although we did get a new worker..."

"Oh?" Touma blinked a few times. "A new worker? No slaves?"

"Oh god, don't remind me," Shuu said as he shuddered.

Makoto looked curiously between the two of them. She had never noticed it before, but Touma and Rei seemed to be at ease with each other. It was almost as if they had been long-time friends—which, of course, was puzzling, considering Rei's resentment of men and (according to Shuu) Touma's inability to properly socialize. "How is the guy doing, Rei?"

"Horrible." Rei scowled. "I have to do all of his work after him because he's so inept. Ojiisan likes him because he attracts a crowd, but he's a waste of my time and money."

"Harsh," Shin said. "He'll get better, I'm sure."

"If not, just stick a few arrows in him," Touma added.

Makoto blinked when Rei actually laughed. Maybe it was the camaraderie, she thought—although poor Seiji looked like he was being left out. That wasn't surprising; Rei had never made it a secret that she didn't really care for the well-mannered young man. Minako explained to her, a week after their big battle with Death Phantom, that Rei had some kind of grudge against him.

"She's just being our cute little Rei-chan," Minako had said. Seeing Seiji's discomfort now, however, Makoto doubted he agreed that 'little Rei-chan' was being 'cute.'

"Date, I've been meaning to ask," Makoto said, determined not to leave him out. "What kind of dojo does your family run?"

"We're known for kendo," Seiji replied with his ever-serious smile. "Although my grandfather has been clearing extra space. I suspect he's planning to extend the grounds for kyudo."

"That's great," Makoto said, genuinely enthusiastic. "I've always wanted to try kendo when I was younger, but I ended up picking judo instead."

"They both seem very different," Seiji commented. "I'm not too familiar with the concept of judo, but I believe it shares the same ethos as kendo?"

"More or less," Makoto said with a grin. She was glad to finally have someone who could understand. Ami knew the technicalities of the philosophy of judo, but it was entirely different from actually understanding it. The only person who came close was Haruka, but the older woman had given up judo the second she graduated from Juuban. "Although I think kendo requires a little more patience."

"I wouldn't put judo below kendo," Seiji replied. He, too, seemed to be enjoying the conversation. The two continued talking, forgetting all about their homework. It was surprising, Makoto thought, how open Seiji could be. She had found him a bit distant at first, cold even; now she knew that he was simply a cautious person.

"Hey guys!"

Everyone turned to the new voice to see Minako dragging both Usagi and Ryo towards them. Ami trailed behind, looking lost as she read something on her phone. Shin smiled up at them as they approached. "Just in time for lunch," he teased.

"I _love_ lunch," Usagi squealed, scrambling down beside him. "I love it way more than studying."

"You study?" Shuu asked incredulously.

"Oh shut up," Usagi said cheerfully, taking a bento. "For your information, I'm a hard worker."

"If only the admissions officer at Keiou agreed," Makoto joked good-naturedly. Usagi stuck her tongue out, used to the teasing. She had been unable to get into Keiou University when she first took entrance exams. Mamoru had been hounding at her to try again, but she was content with her part-time job as an art teacher's assistant at an elementary school. Usagi unwrapped the bento and popped the lid off; her mouth instantly watered.

"Wow, Mako-chan! You outdid yourself this time!"

"You can thank Rei," Makoto said, nudging the priestess. "She fronted all the cash."

"Rei-chan, you are the _best_," Usagi gushed before she dug in. Shin laughed, patting her on the back.

"As I've said before, Usagi, you never fail to astound me with the way you can out-eat Shuu."

"Excuse me, no one is being out-eaten here," Shuu bellowed before he also attacked his lunch. Ami, finally catching up to the group, gave everyone a quick greeting before she sat down next to Seiji. Her attention was still focused on her phone; Minako peeked over her shoulder before finding herself very confused.

"What is all that, Ami?"

"Hmm?" Ami blinked, looking at her friend. "Oh! I'm sorry, I was just checking over a few answers some students sent me—"

"Oh, those cute boys you tutor from Moto Azabu?" Minako grinned, nudging her. "I bet they get 'em all wrong on purpose so they could ask their pretty Mizuno-sensei for help."

"M—minako!" Ami protested, shaking her head wildly. Shin suddenly appeared on her other side with a bright look on his face.

"I might not blame them, Mizuno, I'd do the same if I were in their shoes."

Touma gave him a knowing look, one that was thoroughly ignored. He laughed when Ami was sandwiched between the two. Minako wiggled her shoulders a bit. "Look at you, Ami, even _Shin_ wants some private tutoring."

Ami didn't know what else to do but bury her face in her hands. Shin laughed, patting her shoulder gently. "I'm just teasing, Ami."

"You're always teasing," Ami countered. "One of these days, some poor girl is going to think you're serious."

"Maybe I'll be lucky enough for that," Shin said. He turned back to where Usagi was picking food from Shuu's bento; miraculously, he was letting her. He raised his eyebrows when he caught his friend's attention.

"What?" Shuu said with a mouthful of food. He swallowed and took a big gulp of water.

"You're being generous with your food," Ryo said, seeing the look on Shin's face.

"Where I'm from, we're all generous," Shuu said good-naturedly as he took another large bite. "Makoto, you need to give me your recipe—"

"No way," Makoto said. "You never gave me your spicy ramen recipe, there's no way I'm giving you my croquette recipe."

"I'll take you shopping," Shuu offered. "You can get all sorts of stuff in my hometown."

"Shuu," Usagi said curiously, bits of rice stuck to her cheek. "Where are you from anyway?"

"Yokohama, can't you tell?" Ryo answered for him. Shuu took that as a compliment and grinned.

"Woah, really? Yokohama?"

"Sure thing," Shuu replied with a wink. Minako's eyes immediately lit up.

"Yokohama!" she squealed, clasping Usagi's hands. The two of them seemed to be trying to wrestle each other to the ground in excitement. "Oh my gosh please?"

"Please please please?" Usagi added with big sparkly eyes. Shuu looked flabbergasted at the sudden change of mood.

"Please—please what?"

"Please," the two blondes chorused, shrugging up their shoulders and mustering their best Good Girl faces, "can we visit?"

"Uh," Shuu said dumbly as Touma and Seiji tried to understand, "sure."

Minako pumped her fists in the air. "Yes! All that shopping! I love Chinatown!"

"All the food!" Usagi was cheering as she threw her arms up.

"Do you guys really have all the time in the world to just take a trip to Yokohama?" Makoto shook her head, paging back through her cookbook. "Some of us have studying."

"Oh come on, it'll just be this weekend," Minako wheedled, turning to her taller friend, ready to convince her. Shuu almost choked.

"_This_ weekend? That's such short notice—"

Usagi cut over his words. "Just think, Mako-chan, all of the food you can eat! The _Ramen_ Museum!"

Makoto looked dubious still. She glanced at Shin, who shrugged and said, "I've never had a dull moment at the food market."

"Well," she said slowly, thinking of her work schedule. She had been planning to pick up a few shifts at school, but the possibility of getting things in Yokohama that she couldn't get at home... Usagi latched onto her arm, wobbling her lip up at Makoto.

"Please, Mako-chan?"

"Why not?" Makoto sighed, admitting defeat. Usagi cheered, throwing her arms around Rei, who was half-heartedly trying to shove her off. "It'd be nice to get out of here and relax."

"And we get to spend time together!" Minako chirped, clasping her hands and turning to Ryo and Seiji. She widened her bright blue eyes at them. "All of us are going, and we're going to have a great time!"

"You aren't even gonna fight it?" Ryo asked Ami, who only laughed. Seiji watched as Rei failed to get out of Usagi's death grip.

"It's impossible to say no to those two," Ami said. Minako nodded her head vehemently at her words. "Besides, I do deserve a break."

"Actually," Touma said, and he almost regretted speaking when Minako and Usagi both turned to him with accusing eyes. "Sorry, I can't make it this weekend."

"And why not?" Usagi huffed, detaching herself from Rei. She placed her hands on her hips and turned her frown up at him. Touma couldn't help but look embarrassed as he thought of the words that were going to come out of his mouth.

"Yeah, why not?" Minako echoed, mimicking Usagi's stance. Touma struggled for a moment; Usagi jutted out her bottom lip.

"I have a date," he sighed, and Shuu spit his drink all over himself.

"You _what_?" he bellowed, scrambling forward and grabbing his friend by the collar. Both Shin and Ryo also seemed startled; Seiji looked utterly perplexed. "No way! What date? What _girl_?"

"Get off," Touma continued to mumble, prying Shuu's hands off. His face grew warm when he realized each of the Senshi were staring at him, though with mixed reactions. Ami's and Rei's expressions were relatively blank, but if he didn't know any better, he would have thought that Makoto and Usagi looked mortified. Minako, however, had her eyes narrowed.

"Dude," Shuu said, undeterred. "Why is this the first time I've heard about this?"

"You have a date?" Seiji decided to ask lightly, trying not to embarrass him further. He also tried not to glance at Ami, whose expression was relatively calm despite the obvious fact that everyone except for Touma was aware of her not-so-secret admiration of him. "Why didn't you mention it before?"

Touma's cheeks were bright red. He scratched the back of his neck. "It's just a girl from class, nothing big, really..."

"A girl from class," Shin echoed, blinking. While he wasn't too surprised that Touma had admirers (especially at Todai, girls at Todai liked smart young men), he was surprised that his friend had actually agreed to a _date_. Dates for Touma usually meant something that took away from his studies, or reading, or baseball or chess, anything that was more worthwhile to him. "You never mentioned her."

"It's nothing," Touma repeated. "I was comparing theories with her and I guess I invited her to lunch to continue our discussion, but before I could clarify, she got the wrong idea."

"You're sure," Ryo said, eyebrows raised. "Because if you really like this girl—"

"I don't," Touma said firmly, and he turned to Minako and Usagi. An apologetic look crossed his face. "Sorry, I know you two are excited—"

"Oh no, it's completely fine," Minako said airily. "Actually, I forgot, I was planning to invite a friend of ours into town anyway."

"What?" Usagi turned to her with a pout. The prospect of Yokohama was slipping from her grasp. "Who?"

"Urawa, duh Usagi," Minako said, waving her hand. Rei suddenly looked like she was exasperated with the entire world. "Remember, we talked about having a reunion with him one of these days?"

"Urawa?" Ami's thoughtful voice filtered through their conversation. "But he has midterms coming up. The schedule in France is different from here."

"What, you guys talk regularly? Huh, Mizuno?" Minako nudged her friend and waggled her eyebrows. "Is there a romantic love affair I don't know about?"

"M—Minako!" Ami squeaked. Rei rolled her eyes, knowing exactly what Minako was up to.

"Leave her alone," she said, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "We'll go to Yokohama some other time."

"If I didn't know any better," Ryo said, lips turned up in a smile, "I'd say you actually want to spend time with us, Hino."

Rei returned the smile prettily. "Nobody wants to spend time babysitting, Sanada."

Makoto tried to hide her snort of laughter. Rei really _was_ loosening up around them. She wasn't the only one that noticed; Ryo looked slightly pleased, even if he had been the butt of the joke. "Alright, Yokohama some other time," she said to Shuu.

"Then where are we doing _this_ weekend?" Shuu asked. He honestly hadn't minded going back home for a little bit; it had been awhile since he'd seen his family. He did have a break from Waseda coming up, but he couldn't wait.

"Uh, hello, Ami's boyfriend Urawa is coming into town?" Minako said. Ami's face reddened again.

"Minako, he's not—"

"I say we all go to Roppongi," Minako finished with a bright smile. She was undeterred when everyone stared at her unenthusiastically. "I have a sempai who owns a club there, we can—"

"If we're not gonna do anything, I'll just spend the weekend with Mamo-chan," Usagi said over Minako. She was pouting, terribly upset at not being able to visit Cosmo World. She had _just_ been reading about the new roller coaster.

"Aw, come on, Usagi," Makoto said. "I just freed up my schedule for you!"

"Hello? Am I invisible?" Minako asked. No one answered her.

"How about we do something in Minato?" Ryo suggested. He blinked when all eyes suddenly turned to him. "Well, I was just thinking, most of the time you guys come to Shinjuku..."

"Great idea!" Usagi crowed. "That way we can spend all day at Crown!"

"Crown?" Seiji blinked. "What is that?"

"We are _not_ spending all day at Crown," Makoto protested. "We can do that any other day, we need to—"

"How about Odaiba?" Shin threw in. Everyone fell silent, staring at him. He smiled hesitantly. "I've never been on the Daikanransha."

"The Daikanransha, eh, Shin?" Minako grinned at him. "You and I can take a ride together, if you want."

"If you insist," Shin said, and Minako was left to stare at him cluelessly. The conversation quickly turned to when they would leave, if Touma would make it on time, and were Haruka and the others back from Spain yet? Minako, however, sat with her arms folded across her chest, wondering why she felt like an idiot. She had been wanting for Shin to flirt back all this time, hadn't she? And so when he finally humored her, why was she uneasy?

"Can you make it, Aino?"

Minako blinked, turning to Shuu. "Sure thing, babe," she said, but her thoughts were still distracted by Shin.

"What about your boyfriend, Mizuno?" Ryo asked. He smirked when Ami's face turned bright red yet again.

"He's not—we're not—I don't—"

"Leave her alone," Rei repeated, rolling her eyes. "Urawa's an idiot, anyway."

"Rei!" Ami said, looking startled. "He's not—"

"Did he or did he not cheat just to get to know you?"

"He didn't do it to get to know me," Ami said, looking faintly defensive. Rei seceded, seeing her loyalty to her friend.

"I'm just saying that he, like every other man, is annoying."

"You must be a hit with the guys," Shuu said. Usagi flailed.

"How dare you!" she squawked, grabbing onto Rei's arm. "Rei-chan is super popular with men!"

Ami, completely thankful for the change in subject, clasped her hands together and nodded. "Yes, she's very popular, in fact, Rei, weren't you just telling me that a few sempai from your school wanted to get together with you for a group date this weekend?"

Rei stared at Ami like she never had before. Ami, for the first time in her life, realized then and there what Minako and Usagi (and every unlucky youma) felt every time they were pierced by that stare. She was thankfully spared from a biting remark when Ryo started chuckling. "So, Hino, you're blowing off cute classmates just to hang out with us?"

To Ami's relief, Rei turned the glare onto him.

"That's right, we haven't really decided what we're doing yet," Makoto spoke up, preventing Ryo from suffering the wrath of an exasperated Rei.

After fifteen minutes, they ended up deciding not to do anything that weekend. Rei was entirely annoyed at everyone for not making up their minds and decided that she would rather spend her time cleaning the shrine. Once she jumped off board, Usagi did as well.

"This was your idea," Seiji pointed out.

"But if Rei-chan isn't going, there's no point," Usagi said wisely, crossing her arms and nodding her head. Rei shrugged as if Usagi was speaking the truth. Shuu was stopped from putting his foot in his mouth when Setsuna arrived with a picnic basket in hand.

"Oh, you've already eaten?" she asked sadly, a hand at her cheek. Shin laughed, springing forward to take the basket from her.

"Late as always, Setsuna."

"Don't scold me, Mouri," Setsuna said before greeting everyone else. They all quickly made room for her; Shuu and Usagi, of course, accepted the picnic basket graciously.

"You are _the_ best," Usagi crowed before digging in again.

"I love you more than I love Seiji," Shuu declared, doing the same. Seiji rolled his eyes at this.

"It's just me today," Setsuna said when she saw that Ryo was looking around. "Byakuen is still at the mansion. You've been able to visit alright?"

"Yeah, he likes it there," Ryo said gratefully.

"Oh? Where are the others?" Makoto asked, glancing around for the tell-tale signs of the rest of Setsuna's family. There were no rose petals or fancy violins anywhere around, though. Setsuna looked almost irritated.

"Those two made me take the plane home by myself. They kept Hotaru for ransom, too."

"...you mean they're staying in Spain?" Shin blinked.

"What," Minako added, looking incredibly jealous. "But Hotaru has school!"

"She's transferred over there," Setsuna explained. "I tried to tell them no, that it would benefit Hotaru to continue her education here since she wanted to get into Todai, but Haruka has the wildest idea that they want to raise their new child in Spain."

"That kid won't even be born for like a couple of years!" Minako protested.

"Seven months," Ami whispered to her.

"That kid won't even be born for like seven months!" Minako corrected without missing a beat. Setsuna cringed, wondering if she should have stayed in Spain as well.

"She did mention it in her letter," Ryo said, and everyone stared at him. He blinked a few times before he realized he had spoken out loud. "Oh, I was just thinking, Hotaru did say something about schools in Spain..."

"You guys write letters?" Makoto asked. A thought suddenly occurred to her and she reeled back slightly. Sure, they all had gotten off with a shaky start, but somewhere along the line they had all gotten chummy. Minako still voiced her opinion on Touma sometimes (she couldn't shake her tiny twinge of dislike for him; it was for reasons other than Ami's current romantic dilemma, but as to what exactly, she herself didn't know) and Rei was quite unconcerned with Seiji, but they had become friends.

And for some others, it was a little more than friendship. Makoto wasn't quite sure how it all happened, but the month spent getting to know each other post-Death Phantom had given her ample time to, well, get to know Shuu. It started when he had invited her over one night for a home-made dinner; she, however, couldn't stand by and watch as he butchered the recipe. From then on, it was as if she had taken in a pupil—a persistent pupil who flirted with her every chance he got and took her out at night to taste the street food lining the streets of Tokyo.

For the time being, she was content with the casual flirting; she didn't want to rush things, especially when he didn't seem to be asking for more. He hadn't been more forward than suggesting that they go to the movies, and she hadn't pressured him. It was slow, Makoto thought. It wasn't sweep-you-off-your-feet romance like Mamoru and Usagi had, but it was healthy, and she found that she liked it. The other girls were also very supportive, saying that Makoto had always wanted a guy who could eat; Shuu was therefore perfect.

So if she and Shuu were possible, then was Ryo maybe _interested_ in Hotaru? If that was so, part of her wondered if Haruka was purposely keeping Hotaru away from him. What a ridiculous thought—but then again, it _was_ Haruka.

Makoto fell back into the conversation when Setsuna mentioned that Michiru was absolutely fine with Byakuen staying at her mansion while they were gone. There was no forest, but they had a large field, and Ryo seemed content. "Byakuen would like that," he said.

"Oh, where's Chibiusa? Isn't she supposed to be with you?" Ami asked curiously. Setsuna sighed.

"She and Jun are goofing off somewhere around here," she said. "Spending their last moments together, I suppose."

"I can't believe she's going back," Usagi mumbled dejectedly, picking at her bento. After the battle with Death Phantom, Chibiusa realized how much more she needed to train. And while it was great hanging around her older sister figures, her aunts in the future knew what was best for her senshi-wise. Shuu scratched his head.

"I'm still a little confused," he said. "Just—how can she come back to the past—I mean, the present—_now_, how can she come back to now and not, I dunno, mess things up in the future?"

"We've given up understanding awhile ago," Minako said with a shrug. "If you have any ideas, let us know."

"An alternate timeline," Touma started to say. "Perhaps created when she first came to our time."

"Funny, that's what Ami said," Usagi said. "No clue what any of that means."

"Wow, it's like you guys were meant for each other," Shuu said bluntly, staring at Touma. Touma grimaced, trying to give his friend the best Shut Up look he could. Was he the only one that saw how much Shin liked Ami? Either Shuu didn't get it, or he didn't care as he continued on. "Really, break off your date this weekend and go with Mizuno instead."

Makoto cringed. As much as she adored Shuu, Ami was a sister. Before she could discreetly reprimand him, however, Ami spoke.

"Shuu," she said quietly with an odd little smile on her face. "I understand you're joking, but I think you're making Hashiba uncomfortable."

There it was again, Touma thought—the feeling that he was missing out on something very important. In fact, Seiji seemed to be glaring at him. "No no, I'm not uncomfortable, he's just being his usual idiot self."

Ami lowered her eyes, still smiling politely as she turned back to her bento. Touma scratched his cheek at the uncomfortable silence. Makoto cleared her throat as Shin sighed. No one, however, wanted to say anything—not even Rei, who had taken to playing with the page of her book. She knew that when Ami wanted to really drop a subject, it should be dropped. Usagi bit her lip, wondering how things ended up like this. For such a smart guy, Touma was an idiot, she thought.

"Oh my," Setsuna said, not noticing the awkward atmosphere. She lowered her sunglasses. "I think Chibiusa just punched Jun."

All heads turned into the direction of where she was looking at. True to her words, Chibiusa had punched Jun, and Jun was writhing on the ground dramatically. The pink-haired teen rolled her eyes as she watched him pretend to suffer.

"You are such a monster!" they heard him yell. Chibiusa squatted down and glared at him.

"What was that?"

"You're beautiful," Jun said quickly, sitting up with a grin.

"Hey, I think he got that from me," Shuu said, at which Makoto laughed.

"He definitely didn't, you're not smooth at all," she said.

"You are so gross," Chibiusa was saying, but she was smiling at him. Jun leaned in close, whispering something in her ear, making her giggle.

"Time to make fun of them!" Minako quickly strode over to the teenagers, picking Jun up by the collar. "Hey, kid, what do you think you're doing with our Chibiusa?"

Jun panicked for a moment. "Minako-neechan, you know I've always loved Sailor V?"

Minako blinked. "Really now?"

"Suck-up," Ryo teased, coming up from behind Minako. "He blabbered to us that he was a fan of Jupiter."

"Don't drag me into this!" Makoto protested.

One by one, the group made their way over to them. Setsuna smiled, staying behind to hold down the fort. Shin stayed with her, leaning back on his hands as he watched Shuu flick Jun on the forehead.

"You must be a little sad for her," he said to Setsuna, who let out a slow breath.

"I suppose it's unfair, but she should have known better."

"You think so?"

"She knows so." Setsuna also leaned back on her hands, letting the sun filter through the branches above them. She closed her eyes. "I suppose one can't help who they fall in love with."

"Is that a confession of your love for Naaza?"

Setsuna's eyes snapped open and she glared at him half-heartedly. "I believe you mean Anubis."

Shin's eyebrows shot up. "You really do have game," he said, to which she slapped his arm. He laughed, nudging her, and eventually she joined him.

They were quiet for a moment, watching as Usagi started goading Shuu into challenging Chibiusa to something. A pensive look crossed Setsuna's face, one that had Shin curious.

"What are you thinking?"

"That in the blink of an eye, our lives are gone." She gave him a wistful smile, though he didn't see it, too caught up in the depths of her eyes. "What happened, where did it go? And how can we get it back?"

"It's not possible," Shin murmured, unable to look away. "If it's lost, then it's lost."

"Unfortunately," she continued softly, "we spend our eternity trying to figure out the answers to those questions, and we forget that there is still time left. So time gathers dust. It rusts and fades away, becoming nothing more than a memory lost in never, forever, and maybe."

"Setsuna..."

"That's what I've learned." In front of them, Chibiusa and Shuu were arm wrestling. Minako stood behind Shuu, waving pieces of papers in her hands, demanding that everyone write down their bets. Beside her, Ryo was rooting for Chibiusa. "Not to regret."

Shin was quiet for a moment as Setsuna smiled warmly. The two of them watched as Shuu let Chibiusa slam his arm down; immediately Jun started hawking about handicaps, to which Chibiusa stuck her hand in his face and ignored him. Makoto placed her hands on the boy's shoulders, calming him down before he could pick a fight.

"That's right," Chibiusa said smartly as she clapped her hands free of imaginary dirt. "So, big guy, you're treating me to dinner?"

"Don't you have parents to do that for you, kid?" Shuu asked as Setsuna and Shin made their way over.

At this, Chibiusa blinked before she realized what she was supposed to be doing. "Oh, right... I should be going."

She glanced over at Usagi, whose expression wavered slightly at Shin's words. It was odd, Chibiusa thought, how she never really considered Usagi her mother. Mamoru she sometimes saw as a father, but Usagi was—Usagi. A friend, a sister, someone she could count on.

And right now, Usagi's eyes watered up. "Chibiusa," she whispered with a pout.

"Oh stop with the waterworks," Chibiusa replied. She hugged each of the Senshi briefly before throwing her arms around Usagi. Usagi sniffled dramatically.

"Promise me you'll be safe," Usagi said in a hitched voice.

"I'll be safe, odango," Chibiusa retorted, rubbing her future mother's back.

"Mamo-chan—"

"I already said bye to him," Chibiusa said, pulling away. "And _he_ didn't cry."

"Come back whenever," Usagi said. "Really, I need someone to gang up on Shingo with me."

"I'll be back before you know it."

"We'll be waiting," Seiji said with a kind smile. Chibiusa actually blushed as she turned to him before she dipped into a low bow.

"Thank you for everything you've done," she said to the Troopers. Touma grinned.

"Thanks for everything _you've_ done," he said. "I've never seen Jun so tame."

At this, Chibiusa bit her lip. She turned to Jun, whose smile looked strained. A sad look crossed her face. "Jun..."

"Hey," Jun said, trying to keep his voice light. "I'll miss you."

Chibiusa ducked her head, scratching her arm. She could feel her emotions bubbling over. She was stupid, she thought, for falling for him in the first place. Setsuna reached forward and patted her arm. "Small Lady," she said quietly, "it's alright."

Jun sighed. "Chibi—"

Usagi and Minako both screeched when Chibiusa launched forward, grabbed him by the shoulders and planted her lips on his. She broke away quickly, her eyes watering. "I'm so sorry, Jun."

"Don't apologize." Jun's smile this time was genuine. "Get out of here already."

"Oh my _god_," Usagi wheezed, clutching her heart. "Chibiusa, you brat—"

"Better get going before he grabs you and makes you change his mind," Shuu said, wiggling his eyebrows.

"If Nasuti were here, she'd hit you," Shin said to Jun as he and Chibiusa both turned a bright red.

"If Mamo-chan were here," Usagi continued to say. At this, Chibiusa hastily held up the Time-Space Key, ready to make her escape.

"Guardian of time, tear apart the sky and open the Door of Space-Time to me! I call your true name, the almighty god of time, the guardian of time's father, Chronos! Guidance to me! Protection to me! The path of light to me!"

In a whir of colors and lights, Chibiusa disappeared back to the future. Jun watched as the beam of light disappeared and the world around them returned to normal. His heart, however, didn't stop aching, not even as Ryo threw an arm over his shoulder and offered to treat him to ice cream.

"Shoot, Ryo-niichan," Jun said quietly, "what do I do now, huh?"

Usagi swooped on him, taking his hand in hers. "You move on, Jun," she said in such a simple way that all he could do was nod. Seiji watched as Usagi smiled and looped her arm through Jun's. It was odd, he thought, how gentle Usagi looked at that moment. There wasn't nothing different about her; Seiji had seen her kind side numerous times before. Maybe it was her smile, or maybe it was her look—or maybe it was none of the above, and he had been overlooking Usagi the whole time.

"It'll be hard, kid," Makoto said, ruffling Jun's hair. "But I think you can handle it."

"And hey, if you need a date anywhere, you have four single young ladies to take you out," Minako added with a wink. "It's what we did with Shingo when he had his first break-up. He absolutely hated it, but he's like _gold_ at school now."

Jun nodded again, this time sighing. "Thanks," he muttered, but it still didn't stop the uncomfortable feeling in his chest. He had known that this would happen. Right after the battle with Death Phantom, Chibiusa had explained to him everything—who she really was, what she was really all about. And she had apologized profusely for lying, for making him get attached—and for leaving.

He had said it was okay then. Now, however...

"Aw, come on Jun," Ryo said, grinning at the teen. "You're way too old for her anyway."

Jun whirled around, trying to punch Ryo in the stomach. Ryo expertly dodged with a laugh.

"You're getting sloppy," Shin commented. Jun scowled, dropping into a karate stance.

"I'll show you sloppy!" he said, and he struck out at Shin. Instead, he hit Ami right in the face.

"O—oh," Ami said, blinking. Jun's eyes bugged out.

"Ami-neechan, I'm so sorry—"

"No, it's—it's fine," Ami said as she pressed a hand to her lip. Blood covered her fingers.

"Ami you're bleeding!" Usagi gasped, her hands at her own mouth.

"It's fine, just a little bit of pressure—"

"Come here," Makoto said in a voice that Ami could not argue with. She fished out a handkerchief and pressed it to Ami's lip as Minako hovered around them.

"Is there anything I can do?" Minako asked. "Ami, you feeling okay? Need some soup? Some beer?"

"Wow," Ryo said to Jun, who looked absolutely mortified. "Jun, I think you just hit a girl."

"If only Nasuti were here," Touma commented, just as Rei grabbed Jun by the ear and proceeded to scold him viciously.

"On second thought," Shuu said, cringing as Rei twisted the poor boy's ear, "maybe it's better for him that she's not."

* * *

**an **so i sort of feel like this fic is divided into three parts—pre-battle, battle and post-battle. post-battle starts here and now and, as you can see, is so different haha. i'm not sure how long post-battle will be (hopefully not more than a few chapters) but we shall see.

a few notes on some subtle changes... when i first started writing, i had started with anime rei in mind. as you have probably noticed from the rest of the chapters, rei is based more on her manga personality. chapter one is edited to reflect more of manga rei. the rest of sailor moon is based mainly on the anime (mako and mina especially), but the outers, especially their family-ness and humor, are more manga (i know i know, stick to just one but i can't ;;).

also, shuu's name? i've been struggling forever with this guy haha. i originally had it as "shuu rei-fan" which would be "xiu leihuang" but, i changed my mind. "huang xiulei" sounds/looks better to me, and it solves the mystery of why the other troopers would just call him shuu (if shuu were his family name) instead of his given name, so i tweaked previous chapters to say "fang shuu-rei." if anyone had any idea on what on earth this guy's genuine name is, please educate me haha.

and-a reference to the title! were some of you wondering what blink meant? do most of you not really care? haha ;;

thank you for reading and reviewing! i hope these next chapters won't be such a drag since the action is done and over with.


	19. epilogue ii

**eighteen**

Touma was not an idiot. He knew exactly why he didn't want to go on this date, and it wasn't because the girl wasn't worth his time. In fact, Sachiko was the cutest girl in class. She was also smart, ready to shoot down some of the more obnoxious guys in class when they tried to impress her. In addition, she was polite and kind, but not at all a pushover. Touma remembered when he really was interested in her in the beginning of the year; somewhere along the line, though, something made him change his mind.

And he knew exactly what—or who—that something was.

"There's a sweets shop we could go after this," Sachiko said, smiling brightly at him. "If you still have an appetite."

Touma always had an appetite. Despite this, he scratched the back of his neck and glanced away. "Actually, I had an appointment to get to..."

"Oh," Sachiko said in disappointment. She puckered up her lips in thought before she spoke again. "Thanks for taking me out again."

"No problem."

Touma felt guilty, but he couldn't help it. His feelings for Sachiko had genuinely faded away the second he had met Hino. Rei was like an enigma to him, and there wasn't a puzzle that he wasn't curious about. At first he had been stunned by her beauty—then her sharp tongue—and then her battle-trained instincts.

But his infatuation with Rei quickly disappeared when he realized he was seeing her less of a woman and more as something to understand. And once he decided to get to know her as a person, he knew that they could never be anything more than friends. She was insensitive to his insensitivity, which would have been a terrible match. Besides, she also had that weird relationship with Shuten.

This, of course, led to his sudden realization that Mizuno Ami was probably the closest thing to perfect for him.

Touma inaudibly sighed as he and Sachiko lingered in front of the little café. Lunch had gone surprisingly well, but that was mostly because Touma had been interested in what she thought about Riemann's hypothesis. He had gotten the hint halfway through their conversation that she wanted to change the subject, but she was honestly so well-versed in mathematics that he couldn't stop talking about it. While Shuu would have called this one hundred percent a ruined date, Touma thought it was a great time spent with a new friend.

He just didn't know how to tell Sachiko that.

"Hashiba, you didn't really want to date me, did you?"

Touma was startled. "I—no, that isn't—"

"It's fine." Sachiko smiled, looking adorable as she tucked her hair behind her ear. "I guess I was a little pushy."

"Not at all," Touma said, still wondering how she knew. He hadn't been _that_ obtuse, had he? "I enjoyed having lunch with you, just..."

"Just not as a date." Sachiko nodded, as if suddenly understanding something. "I thought I would give it a shot, but I guess you really do have someone else on your mind."

"What?" Touma said blankly. Sachiko suddenly looked miffed.

"I swear, Hashiba, you really are a brick." Why did people keep telling him that? Sachiko tilted her head, watching the confused expression play on his face. "You really are oblivious, aren't you?"

"I'm sorry, Sachiko, what are you talking about?" Touma had half a mind to be offended. Him, oblivious? He had the top grades in his class, he wasn't _oblivious_. "If there's something I should know—"

"Then you should figure it out on your own." Sachiko sighed, shaking her head. "I would have thought that Mizuno would have talked to you about it, but I can see why she didn't. It's kind of embarrassing."

Mizuno. Touma's stomach flipped at the mere mention of her name. He hated the feeling as much as he loved it. "What does Mizuno have anything to do with it?"

For a moment, Sachiko regarded him with a level stare. He had seen this look on her face only when she was trying to figure out a question. Was she considering him a problem, then, that needed an answer? Before he could say anything, she spoke. "You're a good guy, Hashiba, but I think you should try to be a little bit more selfish."

Touma didn't have an answer. Not for the first time in his life, he wished he could call his mother and ask him why girls were so insanely puzzling. "I'm sorry—"

"No, I should apologize." Sachiko sighed again. "It's none of my business. But Mizuno's a nice girl, so please be kind to her."

"Of course I will," Touma responded, scratching the back of his head. After a moment, the two of them parted ways with promises to keep in touch and stay friends, but Touma was still hung up on her words. What on earth did she mean that he should be more selfish? And what _rumors_ were there, and how was Ami tied into any of it? Maybe he _should_ give his mother a call, though he doubted that she would answer. It had been a year since he had seen her, and in that year they had only spoken a handful of times.

It wasn't her fault; she was busy overseas, working on an international story about the Amazon. Touma had joked to Ryo that their parents should meet and work on a story together. He could just imagine his mother and Ryo's father stalking wildlife in the Safari. From the way Ryo talked about his father, Touma easily pictured the scatter-brained photographer getting along perfectly with his excitable journalist mother.

He was shaken from his thoughts we he caught sight of blue hair amongst the crowd. It was as if speaking about her earlier conjured her up. Ami was just ahead of him, standing in front of the aquatic center and leaning against the bike rack; she had a duffle bag slung over her shoulder as she dried out her hair with a towel. The sight made his lips quirk up as it only succeeded in mussing up her hair.

"Mizuno," Touma called out. At once Ami started; she glanced around before her eyes fell on him.

"Touma, hi," she greeted once he was close enough. His eyes fell on her shoulders, where her shirt was wet from the water dripping down her hair.

"Had a good swim?" he asked, sticking his hands in his pockets. Ami's face lit up.

"It was wonderful," she said earnestly. "I had a lot of things on my mind, and it really helped me release a lot of stress."

"Ah, exams going tough then?" Touma raised his eyebrows, leaning in close. "I wouldn't expect that from you."

"D—don't be ridiculous," Ami stuttered, tucking a strand of wet hair behind her ear. The towel was now draped over her shoulder uselessly. "Our quantum class is proving harder than I thought—"

"Oh?" Touma fully grinned. "Let's study tonight. I can help."

Ami was quiet for a moment, staring over his shoulder at the crowd behind them. Then she gave a small nod, as if she were self-conscious about something. "Sure, if it's no bother."

"You can bring that brilliant coffee maker of yours," Touma added cheekily. Ami laughed, shaking her head.

"I suppose I could," she said, and she looked up at him almost hesitantly. "How was your date?"

Whatever semblance of—of what, flirting with Mizuno? Whatever it was, the feeling faded away just as quickly as it came. Touma cleared his throat, trying to squish down his disappointment. "It wasn't really a date," he said slowly. His thoughts quickly went over what Sachiko had failed to explain earlier—rumors about him, comments about Ami being nice. Should he ask Ami about it, or would the girl get offended?

"You look concerned," Ami said after a moment. Her hand was at her mouth as she looked over his expression. "Is everything alright?"

"Oh, everything's fine." Touma shrugged a shoulder. "I guess Sachiko knew that it wasn't a date either, but she said wanted to give it a shot anyway."

"Isn't that what you wanted?"

"Well, yes, but—I suppose women are just confusing," Touma confessed. He rubbed the back of his neck when Ami started laughing. He reluctantly joined in, wondering if he was laughing at his own expense.

They fell into a silence, in which Ami started fiddling with the end of her towel and Touma watched the doors of the aquatic center open and close. "So," Touma said, "is tonight okay for you?"

"Um," Ami said, biting on her lip as she glanced up in thought. "It should be fine, after dinner. Shin is having me be his test subject."

Just as he had become Touma to her, his friend had gone from Mouri to Shin. "Test subject?"

"He wants to cook dinner for a special someone." Here Ami's expression grew warm. "He wants to make sure it's good enough, so he wants me to try it out. It's sweet, really."

Touma, despite his better judgment, continued to pry. "A special someone? He didn't mention it to me."

"Oh." Ami seemed startled. She blushed, fidgeting a bit. "I'm sorry, actually—he did mention that he was—I shouldn't have said anything, oh dear."

Touma had the wildest theory that perhaps this mock dinner was not at all a mock dinner but a real confession of Shin's feelings to Ami—which, surprisingly enough, no one but Touma seemed to have picked up on. He had seen the way his friend smiled so fondly at her. And who was he to stomp all over Shin's happiness? Ami herself seemed to prefer the bearer of Suiko, and so if he had to swallow his own feelings for their bliss, then that wasn't at all a problem for him.

That was until the doors to the aquatic center opened and Shin strolled out. He blinked when he saw Touma, but a genuine smile crossed his face. "Hey, fancy running into you here. Date not turn out so well?"

"Shin," Touma greeted, trying to squash the inner demon of jealously that roared inside him. This was _Shin_—his kind, generous friend who was like a brother to him. "Here for a swim?"

"Mizuno asked me out," Shin jested, winking. Ami's face burned bright red as she smacked his arm. "I'm just kidding!"

Touma smiled feebly. Idiot, he thought to himself, get a hold of yourself.

"Hey, if it isn't a party that I wasn't invited to!"

Touma never thought he would ever be thankful to hear that voice break through his thoughts. All three of them turned in the direction of the chipper voice to see Minako strolling towards them. She was swinging countless shopping bags in her hands, waving as she neared.

"A surprise makes it all the better," Shin quipped. Minako whipped off her sunglasses and batted her eyelashes at him.

"Only if you like surprises," she sang. Shin blinked.

"Is there something in your eye?" he asked. When she scowled, he laughed. "I'm only joking!"

"Don't play with a woman's heart like that," Minako sniffled before she turned to Touma. She clasped her hands together. "Touma-kun! Treat me to lunch?"

"You've moved on from Seiji to me?" Touma responded blandly. Minako only grinned charmingly at him.

"My eyes were only for you, babe," she said before quickly adding, "unless, of course, you have your eye on _someone else_?"

"Minako," Ami said sharply, and the blonde unexpectedly changed the subject.

"Actually, I'm glad I ran into you guys," she said smoothly, not even faltering in the slightest. "I've been thinking lately—that whole situation wasn't good for us, Ami. And I ran it by Usagi, and she agrees that maybe we should start training again."

Touma watched as a contemplative look ran across Ami's face. Before he could admire the way she briefly tapped her cheek with a finger, she nodded slowly. "Yes, we should. I will admit, if it hadn't been for a stroke of luck, we wouldn't have been able to defeat Death Phantom."

"Right, right," Minako said, "that, and we kind of really suck compared to what we used to be."

"You mean you were stronger?" Shin looked curious. He hadn't thought of the Senshi as weak at all; he did, however, see the difference in power between Haruka's group and Minako's. In fact, he almost thought the situation was like the Masho and the Troopers—at first, anyway. Suzunagi's new armors seemed to channel their spirits more, allowing them to connect more innately with the powers of the armor.

"Of course," Minako said, flipping her hair over her shoulder. She turned her gaze to him. "How do you think we saved the world before?"

"Usagi wanted us to take a break," Ami explained, seeing the puzzled look on Touma's face. "After our last enemy. It had been awhile, we hadn't seen anything strange, and she didn't want us to keep living a double life."

"So we stopped training. But now we're going to pick it back up and I think you two handsome gentlemen want to help," Minako finished with a grand smile. "What do you say?"

"What could we possibly teach you?" Touma replied. Although the idea was grand in theory, he couldn't really see the point. The Senshi were magical, for a lack of a better word. Sure, Makoto was a practitioner of judo, and Rei was particularly skilled in karate, but for the most part, Touma saw it as mostly lights and sparkles. Rather powerful lights and sparkles, but still...

"Just fight with us or something, I dunno." Minako shrugged. "What, you don't want to spend time with us? Seiji was more than thrilled—"

Shin and Touma exchanged glances, hardly able to picture Seiji being thrilled about anything other than racecars and waterfalls. "Seiji's all for it?"

"Oh yeah," Minako exaggerated, waving her hand. "He even drew up itineraries. You guys have break coming up next week, so does Mako, we'll go to his home and meet the family, yadda yadda."

"Right," Touma said, highly doubting that. "So why hasn't he brought it up to us yet?"

Minako's face fell into a stern pout. "Jeez, alright, I haven't talked to Seiji yet, but Ryo and I are going to work it out somehow. He'd _better_ be okay with it, I haven't been to Sendai since junior high!"

After more pestering, Minako got the two Troopers to agree to train them. Shin was still unsure as to what they had to offer, but at the same time, he couldn't see the harm in preparing. After all, Death Phantom was able to come back. What else did the future have in store for them?

As if to answer his question, there was an explosion on the other side of the street. Touma barely made out vine-like plants clutching at members of the screaming crowd as he reached into his pocket for his yoroi ball. He and Shin exchanged glances, nodding, but then Ami cried out.

"Minako!"

The blonde had dropped her bags and rushed into the crowd the instant the screams had broken out. Touma watched as she quickly ushered people out of the way, all the while avoiding the vines as they whipped at her.

"Touma!" Shin said, calling his attention back.

"Right," Touma said. "Buso Tenkuu!"

"Buso Suiko!"

"Mercury crystal power, make-up!"

The three warriors took no moment to wallow in the familiar feeling of their power. They quickly made their way to the blonde, who was struggling to lift something. "Minako—"

Minako was leaning over the edge of a crater, pulling a little boy out the grasp of a vine. In the center of the small crater was a green-skinned humanoid creature. Vines crept out of its hands, ensnaring several glowing people. Touma narrowed his eyes. "What is that thing?"

"A plant youma," Mercury said, activating her goggles.

Minako set the crying boy down, her expression grim. "Get out of here, kid."

"Plant youma?" Shin watched as the ground around the youma started cracking. Little roots sprouted through the dirt.

"Probably a leftover from one of our older enemies," Minako said.

"Come here, we'll find your mother," Mercury said gently, taking the boy into her arms. She gave Minako a significant glance before she rushed away.

"If we attack it, will it hurt the people?"

Minako frowned at Shin's question. "Maybe," she said, letting out a slow breath. Then she leapt backwards as the youma sent a vine in their direction. She landed on all fours, not even grimacing as her knees scraped against pavement. "Careful! Those vines drain energy!"

"Energy?" Touma swiftly ducked as a vine whipped above his head. "So all we can do is keeping running?"

"Aren't you the genius?" Shin joked. Touma rolled his eyes.

"Quit flirting, you two," Minako grumbled, getting to her feet. "We need to get the people out first before we can attack the youma."

"As you wish," Shin said, swinging out his yari. He leapt down into the crater, swiftly avoiding the vines the stationary youma had projected at him. Minako's serious expression dropped as she watched him move.

"Wow, who'd have thought that Shin was so manly?"

"Aino, shouldn't you transform?" Touma asked, disconcerted.

"Aw, it's nothing," Minako said, waving her hand. "This youma's pretty weak."

"What do you—"

"Ami gave me a Look," Minako explained. "This one said not to worry about a thing. Once you get to know her, you could read her Looks, too."

_Once you get to know her_. There it was again, the subtle things that Minako had probably not meant to let slip. She covered it up quickly if she realized it, but most of the time only Touma picked up on it. It bothered him, mainly because it meant that as friendly as she was, Minako still didn't trust them. She still saw them as allies, but allies weren't necessarily comrades.

Touma watched as Shin effortlessly sliced the vines, freeing the trapped civilians. At once they stopped glowing; the youma started writhing before it shot out a mass of vines right at him. "Shin!"

"Cho ryu ha!"

The waves of water smashed into the youma, effectively stopping its attack. Minako couldn't help but comment, "Wow, if only water attacks worked on Bulbasaurs, too."

Shin raised an eyebrow, glancing at Touma. Touma sighed. "Apparently it's not dangerous," he called out. Shin blinked before turning back to the youma. It looked like it was withering.

"Well that's anti-climatic," he said, and he finished the youma off with a forward strike with his yari. It burst into a pile of dust. He glanced around at the civilians on the ground, still unconscious. "What do we do about them?"

"They'll wake up in a bit," Minako said. "Great job, Shin! I knew you were super strong!"

Shin leapt out of the crater, still looking a bit unsure. "You might have to explain to me what happened," he said. Minako shrugged.

"Once in awhile, we get remnants of the Dark Kingdom, no biggie."

"No biggie?" Touma sighed, taking off his helmet. "Aino—"

"They're fine, that youma wasn't strong enough to take that much energy." Minako's cheery disposition ebbed away from her face. "These leftovers are like zombies, blindly following orders Beryl gave them before she was destroyed."

"I believe you," Shin said gently. He smiled, at which she quickly glanced away.

"I guess if it makes you feel better, we can ask Rei to do a reading or something," Minako mumbled. Touma chose not to say anything; his opinions almost always clashed with Minako's, he found.

"If she doesn't mind," Shin said. He glanced over her shoulder to see Mercury returning. She was carrying an empty glass jar. "Did he find his mother?"

"Mm," Mercury said before she lowered herself into the crater. The other three watched as she scooped a bit of the youma's dust into the jar. When she realized the odd looks they were giving her, she blushed. "Ah, Setsuna asked me to start collecting specimen for her to analyze, ever since Death Phantom came back..."

"Oh," Shin said fondly, as if that explained everything. Minako, however, looked terribly confused.

"Seriously, am I the only one that thinks that's weird as hell?"

x

The tea shop was quaint, and something about Shuu sitting in one of the chairs around a tiny fashioned table made Rei's lips quirk up. He looked like an absolute elk, she thought as he spotted her.

"Hey pretty lady," he greeted, standing up to pull out her chair. She raised her eyebrows.

"You're charming today," Rei commented. Shuu flashed a wily grin.

"Only because I know you could curse my unborn children if you really wanted."

Shuu was pretty sure that, despite all her grumblings and glares, Rei liked him—otherwise he would have found himself face down on the ground with a sharp heel in the back of his neck. Instead, Rei rolled her eyes and took a cup from the center of the table. "What kind of tea is this?"

"Oolong." Shuu watched as she poured herself a cup and sipped quietly. "Good, isn't it?"

"Mm."

"Hino!"

Both Rei and Shuu turned to the group of young men that had just piled into the shop, but with different expressions; Rei seemed faintly irritated, but Shuu was curious. He hadn't ever seen Rei interact with anyone outside of her grandfather, shrine visitors, the Sailor Senshi and the Troopers. In fact, he never even thought that Rei would have other friends.

"Funny running into you here," one of the young men said as the rest of them nudged each other. "Do you come here often?"

"Not particularly," Rei responded, completely uninterested in the conversation. Shuu raised his eyebrows, remembering Ami's words from earlier that week. So Rei really _was_ popular with the guys... This was going to be interesting. He leaned forward in his seat, grinning.

The group still lingered, trying to find something to say. Rei sighed inwardly before she smiled politely.

"Is there something I can help you with?"

One of the men shot forward, bowing clumsily before Rei. "My name is Sasugawa, third year. We had the public speaking class together, and I was—I was wondering if you got my gift the other day, I gave it to your grandfather—"

"I did," Rei interrupted. Ouch, cold, Shuu thought. "Thank you."

"Oh, no problem. I'm just sorry it's so late, I was planning in giving it to you for your birthday, but, well, I didn't know when your birthday was—""

"I know it!" another piped up, raising his hand. Shuu had to hold back his laughter, especially when Rei stared at the boy's hand. "I know it, Hino, it's in the middle of April, right when the sakura start blooming, just like your beauty."

Complete, utter silence. After a moment she smiled with her teeth. Shuu thought it looked like a grimace. "Thank you," she said.

"So, Hino," Sasugawa said, clearing his throat. He shot his friends a significant before he continued. "Are you busy at the moment? You could join us, we were just about to study for midterms, we came in here to get some tea and go—"

"Actually, Rei and I just got here," Shuu said, butting right into the conversation. All of the guys turned to him with mixed reactions; some were startled, as if only just realizing that he was there, but others looked baffled as to who he was and why he was using her given name so casually. "Are you guys classmates, or...?"

"We're her senpai from Meiji," one of them said. "And who are you? I've never seen you around."

Shuu glanced over at Rei, not at all surprised to see that she had stopped listening to everything; she was more focused on the chip in her nail. He considered his options and decided to go with the one that was potentially life-threatening, but also terrifyingly fun.

"I'm her boyfriend," Shuu said bluntly, "and you're ruining our date."

"What?!" all of the guys chorused at once. At this, Rei looked up, clueless. "Hino, is this true?!"

"Hmm?"

"Are you dating this guy?" Several fingers pointed at Shuu, who was sitting smugly with his arms crossed. Reiblinked.

"Oh," was all she said.

"Oh?" the sempai echoed.

"Oh?" Shuu repeated, a bit bewildered. He had been expecting a scoff and an eye roll, and maybe even tea poured all over him—not the contemplative look Rei currently had on her face. An odd quiet filled the little tea shop; Shuu noticed that the shopkeeper was listening in from behind the counter. Nosy old woman, he thought.

"S—sorry, Hino," one of the young men finally said, looking nearly heartbroken. "We didn't realize... I mean, we heard the rumors that you were taken, but we didn't think it was true."

"Hmm," Rei said, watching as the group apologized to her one-by-one. When they finally left, she turned back to her tea and took a small sip. She made a face; it had gotten cold.

"Uh, excuse me," Shuu said, still momentarily stunned. "But what?"

"What do you mean, what?" Rei asked, looking at him oddly.

"Why didn't you tell those guys off?"

"Why didn't you?" Rei responded. "After all, you're my boyfriend."

Shuu had never been more confused in his life. "You know I think you're really creepy, right?"

"As long as you know I think you're an absolute idiot."

"Hino—"

"I always wondered what they would do if I had a boyfriend," Rei said, more to herself. "Hmm, well, now I know."

"Uh." Shuu was still bewildered. "You're saying you only wanted to know how they would react?"

"I wonder what rumors they're talking about," Rei continued as if she hadn't heard him. She shrugged. "Oh well."

Shu almost regretted inviting her out. "I don't think I will ever understand you."

Rei ignored him.

"Anyway, Hino, I wanted to ask you something," Shuu began importantly. Rei quirked an eyebrow. "About Makoto."

"Here we go," Rei muttered, wondering why she agreed to meet with him in the first place.

"Is she still interested in Touma?"

"Are you still interested in Usagi?" Rei couldn't help but give Shuu a dirty look. He had dragged her across town just to ask her that? Shuu, on the other hand, had the grace to look embarrassed.

"I was hoping people would forget that." He heaved a sigh, taking a sip of his tea before he spoke again. "The thing is, I really really really like Kino. A lot. She's nothing like other girls I've dated—not that we're dating—or maybe—point is, yeah, she can fry me without even thinking, but that's great, right?"

Rei took a sip of her tea.

"She's—" Shuu let out a grand sigh, leaning back in his seat. "I just want to show her how—how great she is. But I don't want to cross the line."

And in between tuning him out to plan the rest of her day and half-listening when he mentioned Makoto, Rei understood the situation.

"You brought me here to ask me for love advice," she said. Shuu nodded eagerly.

"Right! So?"

"So," Rei said, staring at him as if he had five eyes (that is, being Rei, with much indifference). "You're dumb."

Shuu's excited expression fell. "You are the meanest person I know," he said with a pout.

Rei, however, continued to stare at him. What on earth was he thinking? Her, for love advice? Really? Just because she hung around Minako didn't mean she was equally capable of dishing out the romance... Although Minako's idea of romance _was_ a little crazy. "Um," Rei said, and she wondered what was happening. She didn't say things like 'um.'

Shuu looked up expectantly. "Yeah?"

"You should..."

He was hanging on her every word. "I should what?"

"You should get more tea," Rei ended up muttering, feeling absolutely embarrassed that she had been about to let him know that he should just tell Makoto honestly. How did Usagi do this? The words were silly even in her mind. She watched as Shuu sulked over to the counter and forked over a few bills to pay the shop keeper. Did he really trust her that much? That was also a stupid idea; Rei was in the mindset that if they had been strangers and passed each other on the street, she wouldn't have even noticed him.

Shuu returned with a fresh pot of tea. "Five minutes to brew," he grumbled, flopping back in his seat. He lowered the brim of his hat, staring at her sullenly.

"What?" Rei said after a moment, annoyed.

"Nothin'," Shuu said stubbornly. He continued to stare. She scowled.

"Stop that."

"Stop what?"

"Staring." Rei lowered her eyebrows, feeling that he was somehow blaming her for his inadequacy at wooing Makoto. Another ridiculous thought.

"Now you know how it feels." Shuu crossed his arms, glancing out the window. "Really, Hino, I thought we could help each other out."

"Help each other out," Rei repeated skeptically. She raised an eyebrow as she popped the timer on the tea and poured herself a fresh cup. Shuu glanced back at her.

"Yeah, you know. You help me with Kino and I'll help you with your love life."

"I don't have a love life," Rei said abruptly. Shuu frowned at the direction of the conversation; he had meant to be joking, but he could tell that he had struck a chord. Rei had always been short with him in an amused and exasperated sort of way, but now she seemed unbearably cold as she looked out of the window.

"Are you okay?" Shuu decided to ask. He regretted the words instantly; Rei fixed him with an angry stare.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

Shuu scratched his cheek. Really, Ryo was the one good with all the feelings, not him. "No reason, I guess," he chose to say. Thankfully Rei looked away, ending the subject. It was after a moment she spoke again.

"Mako-chan..."

Shuu watched as she thought about her words carefully. In all honesty, he didn't know why he had asked _Rei_ for help. The obvious choice would have been Minako, or Usagi—heck, even Ami could have been a better option. Asking Rei for romantic advice was like—like asking Seiji to go to the club. Absolutely useless.

"Mako-chan is a romantic," Rei said, brow furrowed in thought. "She's tough, but she's also a woman. She likes flowers, sunsets, dinners. She might be embarrassed at first, but she wants to be respected and treated well. There's nothing complicated about it. Just be honest to her."

It made sense, Shuu thought, Makoto as a closet romantic. He had spotted her collection of chick-flicks once, but she hastily shoved them out of sight and produced a Bruce Lee movie to distract him.

"But she could still kick your ass," Rei concluded confidently, staring him right in the eye. "She won't because she's nice, so if you do anything to hurt her, _I_ will burn you."

Shuu hadn't been on her bad side, but he saw how she treated Seiji and decided that was not the kind of life he wanted to live. That brought another thought to him... "Hey, do you want to come to Sendai a couple of days earlier?"

"What?" Rei's blinked at the sudden subject change.

"You know, before everyone else gets there."

Shuu flashed pearly whites. Rei was quite unfazed. "Why would I go early with you?"

"Because we're dating," Shuu said. He hastily held his hands up when she made a sudden motion across the table towards him, as if she were going to pinch him. "I'm just kidding!"

"You're ridiculous."

"Oh come on," Shuu said. He looked, for a moment, thoughtful. "Have you ever been to Sendai?"

"No," Rei answered truthfully. The last time the girls had planned a trip for Tanabata, she had been stuck at the shrine for the festival. She watched as his face lit up.

"Great, I'll be your tour guide," he said. "There's a lot of scenic stuff that Ryo really likes, it really calms your mind. And we can visit the hot springs—"

Rei reached forward again, successfully grabbing Shuu above his elbow and pinching. He yelped.

"I was just kidding, jeez!"

"I'm not going early," Rei said, wondering why on earth he was asking in the first place.

"Too bad, yes you are," Shuu countered. Before Rei could call him an idiot, he played his trump card. "I promised your grandfather I'd take care of you, didn't I?"

Rei's mouth closed and she stared at him with an expression he had never seen on her face before. It was unusual to see her uncertain. For the short time he had known her, he had understood very quickly that Hino Rei was not the kind of girl who hesitated. And yet here she was, sitting in front of him with the slightest frown and the guiltiest look in her eyes.

"So I'll buy your ticket," Shuu said. He waited for the scowl. It never showed up.

"...are you sure?" Rei asked, and Shuu almost choked on his tea in surprise. He covered it up by wiping his mouth with a napkin.

"Of course I'm sure," he said with a wide grin. Oh, Seiji was definitely going to kill him for this. Poor Rei, she didn't even know he lived in Sendai, otherwise Shuu was sure she would have outright balked at the idea of training there. "You are, after all, a lady, as weird and crazy as you are—"

Rei slapped him on the arm. He laughed, grabbing her hand.

"We'll have a great time," Shuu said, although he was fairly sure the trip would end in (literal) flames.

"We're only going a day early—"

"Three," Shuu corrected. At the look on her face, he held up a finger. "Don't make me tell your grandfather what a discouraging friend you're being!"

For some reason, instead of the usual glower, he got another uncertain look. He suddenly felt like his teasing was not at all a joke to her, especially when she retreated away from him. Rei swung her purse over her shoulder and pulled out a few bills. "I have an appointment," she said quietly.

"Uh," Shuu said, swiftly standing up. He shook his head when she tried to offer him the money. "No, I invited you out, don't worry about it."

"Thanks," Rei muttered, and she turned on her heel and left the shop. Shuu thought that maybe he never should have meddled in the first place; he watched through the window as she hurried down the sidewalk, her stony gaze kept in front of her.

x

Makoto wondered if Seiji did steroids, because they had been hiking for at least an hour now and he was showing no signs of stopping. She wondered for a moment if she should have given into his gentlemanly ways and let him carry her bag when he offered; she had, of course, refused, especially since he had the heavy Korin nodachi strapped to his back.

"Kino-san, do you need a break?"

"No way." Makoto grinned. "As long as we're almost there. We're almost there, right?"

Seiji chuckled as he readjusted the hold on his bag. "We're almost there, I promise."

Makoto continued to follow after him, taking her mind off her tired legs by admiring the scenery around them. It had pleasantly surprised her when Seiji had invited her to go hiking with him; she hadn't expected him to be a nature kind of guy. It seemed more like Ryo's thing—but when Seiji quickly explained that there was a waterfall he enjoyed meditating by, she was more than eager to accept his invitation.

Makoto heard the almost deafening rush of water before she realized what it was. Seiji had abruptly stopped and she almost ran into him; he gave her a slight smile. "We're here."

She nodded slightly, taking a few hesitant steps before approaching the clearing. Her heart almost leapt out of her chest when she realized they were on a cliff's edge. "How did you find this place?" she asked.

"I suppose it found me," Seiji said, walking past her and untying the sword from his back. He set it gently on the ground before straightening up and taking in the sight. It was true; he had agreed to go hiking with Ryo one day, and they had chanced upon this clearing. It was a complete work of nature, miles up from the ground, surrounded by ancient trees that billowed gently in the breeze. The waterfall wasn't so large that it drowned out his thoughts, but the rush of water emptying into the basin below was enough to calm his mind.

Seiji glanced over his shoulder to see that Makoto had already dropped her bag on the ground. She kicked off her shoes, slowly sitting down on her knees. She placed her hands on her lap and closed her eyes.

Normally Seiji wouldn't have invited anyone here, but he had keenly picked up that Makoto was looking for someone to share her interest in judo. He returned his attention back to the Korin nodachi, tracing his fingers along the hilt. Slowly he unbound it, already feeling its presence starting to overwhelm him. That was never a good thing—as much as he acknowledged the power of his armor, he knew that he couldn't let it run free.

Seiji also closed his eyes, settling into his familiar meditating position. The power radiating from the nodachi started to pulse before he allowed it to settle over him. Ever since Suzunagi, moments like these were rare—moments where he doubted his ability to understand his armor, understand himself. But the recent battle had left him questioning his role again, and those questions allowed the armor to filter through his self-doubt.

But he was determined to settle the score with it once again. He only needed to mend the uncertainty he had in him.

Seiji let the roar of the waterfall wash over him, easing his mind away from the armor. Instead his thoughts settled on the Senshi, and how self-sufficient they were. Minako, as vibrantly annoying as she was, had razor-sharp instincts that he almost envied. He could remember the look on her face when she dealt the final blow to Death Phantom; there was no hesitation there, just pure determination. Makoto was strong and fearless, not only physically but in spirit. She was just as instinctive as Minako, though in a different way; where Minako aimed to attack, Makoto protected. She had the most compassionate heart, he thought.

Ami was just as remarkable, perhaps even more than Touma. It had surprised him to learn that she was also considerably empathetic; that, perhaps, was what gave her the edge over Touma. And it was Usagi's utter faith in everyone that kept them together. She was not blindly confident, though—he knew that she understood what her soldiers—no, her friends—were capable of. She understood their strengths and their weaknesses—she understood them wholly, and that was what allowed her to trust in them.

An uneasy feeling filled him as the final Sailor Senshi came to mind. Seiji knew where Rei fit within the group, but he didn't know where she fit with _him_. She unsettled him completely, turning his world upside down. He knew that all along he had been comparing the Senshi to the Troopers—and by unfortunate process of elimination, his own counterpart was the most difficult girl he had ever met in his life.

Seiji had long given up trying to be on her good side; if she wanted nothing to do with him, then he wanted nothing to do with her. He sighed, his concentration broken as he opened his eyes. Meditating was supposed to clear his mind, not fill it with unnecessary thoughts. At least the Korin nodachi had stopped acting up...

He glanced over his shoulder to see that Makoto had also opened her eyes. She was sitting cross-legged, staring out over at the waterfall. "Kino-san?"

"Sorry, did I mess you up?" Makoto grinned sheepishly.

"Not at all," Seiji said. "I suppose I have too many things on my mind to completely be at peace."

"Really?" Makoto blinked, looking at him curiously. "Anything I can help with?"

Seiji was quiet for a moment, and Makoto wondered if she had crossed the line. Right as she opened her mouth to apologize, however, he spoke up. "If I could be honest..."

"Yeah?" Makoto prompted.

"Does Hino-san dislike me for a reason?"

"No, no, not at all, Rei doesn't dislike you," Makoto automatically said, waving her hands in front of her. Oh no, she thought, out of all things she hadn't expected this. Seiji looked uncomfortable, averting his gaze. Was he _blushing_? Oh no. "Really, Date, she's just like that, you should have seen her when she first met Usagi, those two were at each others' throats!"

"Seiji is fine," he mumbled, and Makoto blinked again.

"Then you can call me Mako-chan," she said before she scooted closer to him. "Is that really what's been bugging you? If you want, I can say something to her—"

"It's fine, Kino-sa—"

"Mako-chan," she corrected. "And trust me, Rei can't say no to me. She won't admit it, but she likes my cooking too much."

"I didn't mean to..." Seiji sighed, trailing off.

Makoto glanced up thoughtfully. "You know, I've always wondered why Rei acts like she does around you, but honestly I just think she doesn't know _how_ to act."

Seiji stayed silent. Makoto took that as a cue to continue.

"You're not exactly ugly, you know," Makoto said without thinking. When Seiji gave her an almost (dare she think it?) frightened look, she scooted away. "I'm just kidding! I'm not hitting on you, I promise!"

"That's... reassuring," Seiji said faintly, still looking like he might bolt any second.

Makoto rubbed her arm, wondering how much further she could embarrass herself. "Um, well..."

"I apologize, I guess I should clarify," Seiji said. "I had just been thinking that our two groups get along well except for myself and Hino-san, and maybe we would have a better time in the future if—"

"If you guys were chummy?" Makoto paused. "Wait, you think more enemies are going to attack?"

"It's possible, isn't it?" Seiji met her gaze evenly; she was, for some reason, surprised at how gentle his eyes were. "If you enemy could return, who knows what's next?"

"That's true." Makoto broke eye contact and stared over at the waterfall again. "But it's nice to know that you guys are here. I know we had a rough start, but I think we weren't just used to—you know, fighting alone."

"We share the same sentiments," Seiji murmured.

"She just probably needs a little time. I wouldn't worry about it."

They shared a moment in which the waterfall took over their senses, leaving them completely vulnerable to their musings. Seiji smiled, lowering his gaze to the basin below them. This was nice, he thought, better than he had expected. At first, when he had mustered up the nerve to ask Makoto to accompany him, he hadn't expected much.

But Makoto, even if she didn't know it, had the uncanny ability to draw out the truth. He felt his worries slowly seep away as he listened to the waters roar on. "Thank you, Kino."

"Mako-chan," she automatically corrected again. She raised her eyebrows at him. "And for what? You're the one that brought me to this place. I should be thanking you."

Seiji couldn't help but chuckle. "I'm grateful for your company. When I brought Ryo here, he couldn't sit still at all. We left after five minutes."

Makoto shook her head. "That Ryo, he's like a ball of energy. I can't imagine him settling down at all."

"Surprising that he's developed feelings for a much calmer girl," Seiji commented. At this Makoto sat up straight and turned to him excitedly.

"Hotaru-chan, right? He totally likes her, right?"

Seiji blinked, having been under the impression that Ryo was attracted to an upperclassman at Waseda. "Ah..."

"I'm right, aren't I?" Makoto's grin lit up her face. "Oh man, when he mentioned writing letters to her, I _thought_ something was up!"

Seiji scratched his cheek, wondering if he should mention this Masako-senpai that Ryo wouldn't stop giggling about.

"No wonder they're still in Spain," Makoto continued to say. "I always thought Haruka was dramatic."

"Perhaps we should get going," Seiji suggested. "It's getting late."

"Oh, jeez, how long were we here for?" Makoto glanced at her watch—communicator—and let out a sigh. "I really hope Shuu doesn't mind I'm a little late for movie night..."

"He'll be fine."

"He better be," Makoto said as she moved to put her shoes back on. She quickly slung her bag over her shoulder while checking her watch again. "We could probably make it in time, if you drive as fast as I hear you can."

"Hmm?" Seiji raised an eyebrow. Makoto winked.

"Tell me, Seiji, is it true that you used to drive around illegally?"

Seiji chose not to comment, but his slight smirk confirmed it all for her. The two of them quickly headed out of the clearing and started their hike down.

Oh boy, Seiji thought as he replayed their earlier conversation in his mind. He didn't have the heart the correct her about Ryo. Hopefully Makoto wouldn't say anything to the other girls... He paused, remembering the times when he had witnessed the Senshi together. He grimaced at the thought; Aino was most definitely going to have a field day with this.

* * *

**an** lol seiji totally fanboying over the senshi. anyway... i've decided to name these last bits of chapters "epilogues 1 - ?" because they don't really conclude much and deal with just the inner workings of these two teams. i apologize if things are a slight bore/disjointed. next epilogue chapter—things start "heating up" ;x

thank you for reading!


	20. epilogue iii

**nineteen**

"I am going to kill you," Rei said once she realized that she was standing in front of the Date dojo. It was too late for her to turn back; an elderly man had spotted her and Shuu the second they walked in. He called over to Seiji, who seemed bewildered at the sight of the two of them lugging around suitcases.

She had half a mind to turn around and stomp off anyway, but Shuu grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her forward.

"Hey, Date-sensei!" Shuu greeted, ignoring Rei's glare as he stepped forward to greet the head of the Date household. Behind his grandfather, Seiji looked faintly reluctant to make eye contact with her.

"Shuu," Grandfather Date acknowledged. His lips twitched when the young man bowed respectfully. "You look healthy. Your grandfather is doing well?"

"Yes sir," Shuu chirped. "He still talks about the way you ruthlessly beat him that one time at shougi."

"A good match," Grandfather Date reminisced. He almost had a tear in his eye. Rei tried not to scowl as she yanked her arm free from Shuu's grasp; the slight action caught Grandfather Date's attention. "Oh?"

"Oops, sorry Date-sensei." Shuu nudged Rei forward, beaming. "This is Hino Rei, a friend of ours."

"An honor to meet you." Rei swiftly bowed; when she straightened up, Seiji's grandfather nodded.

"Yes, Seiji has mentioned you. I exchange correspondence with your grandfather regularly."

Rie blinked, suddenly finding the stuffy old man more interesting. "Ah?"

"Met him on a class trip to Hokkaido," Grandfather Date said fondly. "He's a good old man. In fact, I was just over at your shrine a few months ago for hanami."

Seiji appeared startled, having not known this bit of information, but Rei couldn't help but smile. As nutty as her grandfather was, she knew that he had many connections throughout the country. Though their own shrine was small, her grandfather had made a name for himself when he was younger. It wasn't surprising at all for strangers from Osaka to stop by, claiming that her grandfather had saved their lives when they were younger. "I hope he treated you well."

"Of course, of course." Grandfather Date suddenly eyed her sharply. "He did mention you were an avid practitioner of kyudo, is that correct?"

"Yep, that's her!" Shuu thumped Rei on the back; she seemed to keel over, but he quickly pulled her up by the shoulder. "She couldn't stop talking about the new grounds you're putting in, sir. Maybe you want to show her?"

Rei's smile turned strained as she tried not to strangle Shuu. Seiji almost felt sorry for her. If Grandfather Date noticed, he said nothing of it. "Of course I can show her. Seiji, take her bags. Young lady, follow me."

As Rei trailed after Grandfather Date, she shot Shuu the most evil glare she could muster. Shuu only winked. "Have fun, Rei-chan!"

Seiji sighed, picking up her suitcase. "Shuu..."

"Missed you too, buddy," Shuu said, swinging his own bag over his shoulder. "So, where am I staying? The usual?"

Seiji shook his head, leading the way. "I don't know what you're planning, but you're going too far."

"Planning?" Shuu feigned a look of innocence. "What in the world are you talking about?"

Seiji shook his head again, knowing better than to press the subject. He wasn't going to get involved in any of his friend's schemes. "Was there a reason you came early other than to bug me?"

"Of course there was," Shuu said, playing with the strings of his hoodie. "Your cute oneesan still living around here?"

"Unfortunately for you, she just got engaged," Seiji said dryly. He led Shuu around the corner before stopping and sliding open a door. "Your favorite room, as requested."

"Engaged?" Shuu let out a low whistle. "Man, guys at medical school really know what they want, don't they?"

"He's a doctor," Seiji said with a casual shrug. Shuu paused, noticing the slight movement; when they first met, Seiji was too insanely proper to shrug. It was remarkable how much they all rubbed off on each other...

"So that means you're still the little master."

"Actually, he's the son of a kyudojo in Osaka. He's going to be taking over grandfather's new project."

"But you'll still be the little master of kendo." Before Seiji could retort, Shuu swung his bag onto the ground and threw an arm around his friend's shoulders. "Let's go see how our crazy shrine lady is faring with your grandpa, shall we?"

Seiji bit back his words as Shuu easily made his way through the dojo. It wasn't hard; ever since their fateful meeting, they had spent every Tanabata in the care of the Date family. He briefly wondered if this year he would be inviting the Sailor Senshi as well. Minako and Usagi would most certainly be up for it, but he couldn't imagine those two around his family. They'd get along with Satsuki well, though...

Shuu paused once he reached where the garden usually was. "This is it, right?"

"Mm," Seiji confirmed as he nudged the doors open. Shuu blinked; the last time he had been there, the large, open field had been filled with various trees and flowers. The pond was still glimmering off to the side, but the plant life was gone.

"Woah, he was really serious when he said he wanted to expand, huh?"

"You should see the space mother has for her garden now," Seiji commented. He slipped through the doors, his eyes falling immediately to where Rei and his grandfather were standing. She had somehow been roped into gearing up, though not entirely; if it had been anyone else, the chest guard over the chic shirt she wore would have looked ridiculous. Instead, Rei looked almost like an unconventional warrior—especially when she slowly drew her arrow.

Grandfather Date stood respectfully off to the side, watching Rei intently. The arrow flew and hit the center of the target.

"Woah," Shuu said, as if he had expected the arrow to fly in the opposite direction and pierce him in the eye. "Touma's got competition."

"Hmm," Seiji said, because when Rei lowered her bow, an unexpectedly disappointed look crossed her face. The two of them neared her; Grandfather Date took the bow, nodding as if he understood.

"Your aim is impeccable," he said. Rei's smile was half-hearted.

"Thank you," she said as she fiddled with her glove, "but as I'm sure you know, kyudo isn't all about the aim."

"You seem to have a lot on your mind," Grandfather Date commented. "It showed in your release."

"Must be all that politics," Shuu said, only to have Rei finally crack. She reached over and slapped him upside the head; he squawked, ducking away and rubbing his head. "Ouch!"

Grandfather Date actually started chuckling. "You might have deserved that one, Shuu!"

"He definitely deserved it," Rei grumbled, only for Grandfather Date to laugh again.

"I've never met a priestess so fiery," he said. "Careful, Shuu, she might burn you next time."

"Ha," Shuu said weakly, knowing that she was quite fully capable of doing so. After a moment, Grandfather Date left the three of them alone, excusing himself to prepare for a class later. Seiji sighed, knowing that he should prepare for his own class. He did have a few hours, though...

He turned his eyes to Rei, whose own gaze was lingering on the target. Wordlessly she moved off the platform and down onto the grass. She swiftly moved across the field, quickly making her way to the target and pulling the arrow out. She really did look like some kind of comical superhero, especially with her hair tied back.

"I really wonder what's eating her, though," Shuu said, breaking through his thoughts. His own expression was contemplative.

"What do you mean?" Seiji carefully asked.

"She's been off lately." Shuu shrugged. "You remember how Ryo was after that stuff happened in America?"

"Ah," Seiji said, because Ryo had been unbearable in the weeks immediately after Luna's death. He had tried to hide his feelings, but that often left him sulking by himself. No one could blame him, of course not, but the more they tried to reach out to him, the more he closed himself off. It was only after Nasuti confided in him that she was never truly over her grandfather's death did he open up to her. "So you thought a vacation in the hometown of her greatest enemy was the best idea?"

"First of all, I don't like the sarcasm," Shuu said, rolling his eyes. "Secondly, when did you go from greatest admirer to enemy?"

"I have a class to prepare for," Seiji said dryly.

"Sounds like fun."

"I wasn't inviting you," Seiji said, but saying no to Shuu was like trying to tell Shin to stop saying 'please' and 'thank you.' A thought suddenly occurred to him. "Did Shin ever let you know how his dinner went?"

"Huh?" Shuu said blankly, scratching his cheek.

"With Setsuna?"

"Oh!" Shuu's confused stare quickly turned mischievous. "Oh yeah, he told me all about it. Apparently he got Ami to be his test subject and she told him his menu was all wrong because—get this—he was gonna make some kind of egg plant stir fry and Meiou _hates_ egg plant."

"Oh boy," Seiji said, knowing where the conversation was headed. Shin was usually level-headed, but they'd all learned from high school that when Shin fell for a girl, he _fell_ for her. He could remember the last girl Shin had asked on a date; the Suiko bearer unwittingly ended up in a fist-fight with the girl's wrestler boyfriend.

"I came home and it was snowing flour," Shuu snorted. "Poor Ami had to clean it all up. I've never seen him so panicked."

It was hardly a surprise, though, that Shin was the most romantic out of all of them. Shuu was too easy-going, Touma had an affair with his books and Ryo, as good as he was with his own heart, was an idiot when it came to girls. As for himself—Seiji tried not to think about the times he had been driven to duck in janitor closets to hide from the kendo fan club. "So how was the actual date?"

"I think they kissed," Shuu said, wagging his eyebrows as he leaned in close to Seiji. "Why, you jealous? You need a strong, older woman to take care of you too, Seiji-kun?"

Seiji swatted his face away, rolling his eyes. "How about you focus on your own dilemmas?"

"Nah, too focused on Rei-chan's," Shuu sang as Rei neared them. At once her expression dropped into a scowl. Shuu quickly took on his Good Boy expression; Seiji was all too familiar with this look, as Shuu pulled it out whenever he broke something. "Is something the matter?"

"I'm not talking to you," Rei said shortly before she turned to Seiji. The abrupt movement caught him off guard; Seiji found himself wondering when the last time he had been so unaware of a person's movements and intentions. "Date, thank you for having us."

"It's not a problem," Seiji murmured. "I'm sorry Shuu had to drag you here."

"Not at all," Rei said, and Seiji thought she actually sounded like she wasn't trying to stab him with her words. She reached behind her and undid knot to the chest guard; sighing, she pulled her hair out of its tie and shook her head. The warrior was coming apart, Seiji thought.

"Hey, know what?" Shuu said suddenly with a grin. He draped an arm around Rei's shoulders; she gave him the sourest look either of them had seen on her face. Shuu ignored it. "Seiji's teaching a class later. I bet that'll take your mind off things, yeah?"

"Shuu—"

"If you don't mind," Rei said, cutting Seiji off. Both young men blinked at her. Had she just readily agreed? She ignored their reactions, slipping the glove off her left hand.

"Well," Seiji started to say, but Shuu quickly cut him off.

"He doesn't mind at all, Rei-chan!"

The glove was thrown at his face.

Hours later, Shuu and Rei sat kneeling on the floor of the dojo, watching as Seiji paired students up to strike each other. The class had gone through stretching exercises and was now going to review their previous lesson. The two of them watched as Seiji circled the room, stopping to give pointers.

Shuu was bored out of his mind, but Rei couldn't help but become interested. Everything about kendo was nothing like she had imagined. Although the students were going through the motions, she could tell that Seiji was trying to instill a belief in them. He reminded her, actually, of the captain of her kyudo team at high school. There was refinery in his words, but underneath that there was an innate understanding.

One student stopped Seiji to ask him a question. Instead of answering it with words, Seiji decided to demonstrate with a duel.

"Hey, let me ask you something," Shuu said, intruding into Rei's thoughts. "Why are you studying politics?"

"What do you mean?" Rei answered carefully, her gaze not straying from the on-going duel. Seiji had easily sidestepped a thrust and countered the student's attack with one of his own. He paused momentarily to instruct the student on what he had done wrong and what he should have done.

"I mean, obviously you're going to be in charge of the shrine. Why not study something like business, something useful?"

Shuu glanced away from the students, just in time to see a frown lightly cross Rei's face. It was the same expression she wore when she had demonstrated her kyudo skills earlier—the same expression in the tea shop, where Shuu first had the inkling that something was wrong.

On the floor, Seiji demonstrated to the whole class what he had just taught the student. Rei could see the respect the students had for Seiji; it was clear in the way they all clamored to answer his questions. Seiji didn't seem too bothered by their admiration. In fact, Rei wondered if he even knew.

"I just wanted to know," Rei said so quietly that even she was unsure if she was speaking, "what was so great about politics that it could take a man away from the woman who loved him."

Shuu stayed quiet, knowing that this was something he shouldn't have pried into. He realized then that he hadn't ever given thought as to why Rei lived with her grandfather. He'd always assumed that it was because she wanted to be a priestess, but now...

"He's very good," Rei said, her eyes fixed on Seiji. "The sport suits him well."

"Falling for him already?"

"Jealous?"

Shuu sighed, shaking his head. "Flirt with me all you want, Hino-chan, but my heart goes out only to one woman in my life."

Rei raised her eyebrows. Shuu grinned.

"My mother, of course."

Rei rolled her eyes, but she couldn't fight the smile. Even if this whole trip was stupid, she had to admit that maybe she was grateful. Her grandfather, lately, had been acting strangely. He was overly concerned about her well-being and the state of her relationship with her new friends. When she finally confronted him about it, he said the one thing that now persuaded her to go through with all these ridiculous ideas Shuu was throwing at her.

"I don't want you to be lonely like your mother."

And now sitting here, Rei realized what he meant. She had been difficult for no reason at all. Getting out of Tokyo was like breathing fresh air, and watching Seiji instruct his kendo class somehow felt like coming home. She had been wrong, she thought as Shuu continued to whine under his breath about how slow the class was. She had been wrong about so many things, and she wondered if she had the courage to apologize.

x

It took everyone about five seconds to realize that Usagi and Minako were not going to fit in at the Date household. The second the two blondes set foot on dojo grounds, Usagi tripped over her feet and fell on her face. Minako didn't even hesitate to comment on her friend's underwear ("Really, Usagi, pink panties? At a sophisticated place like this?"), not even realizing that Grandfather Date and Yayoi were right around the corner.

"Shut up!" Usagi grumbled, quickly pulling her skirt down as she scrambled to her feet. "Mamo-chan likes it!"

"Oh my god," Makoto said, her face bright red. "Cut it out—"

"And besides, what's wrong with pink? Ami-chan has some—"

"Ami's are _lace_," Minako said drolly. "Yours have bunnies on them."

"G—guys," Makoto said weakly as Ami buried her face in her hands. The two of them looked like they wanted to dig themselves a hole to jump in. "This really isn't—"

"May I help you?"

All eyes turned to the Yayoi, whose expression was carefully neutral. She had known that her little brother was having friends over (mystical super power training, Satsuki had explained to her), but this gaggle of girls seemed nothing like warriors. At least the girl that Shuu had brought with him was somewhat sensible. Yayoi hadn't personally seen her much; despite arriving early, the pair of them had given the Date family their privacy and taken to sight-seeing.

"Hello!" Minako said cheerily, striding forward. "We're looking for Date Seiji-kun."

Yayoi didn't need to look at her grandfather to know that he was particularly unimpressed. "Are you friends of his?" she asked. Minako's grin widened.

"Yep, actually, Ami here is a classmate of his." The blue-haired girl hurriedly bowed, trying to save whatever dignity she could for the group, Yayoi appreciated the sentiment, but she couldn't help but frown when she turned her eyes back to the blonde with the bow.

"Yes, he did mention visitors," Grandfather Date said gruffly. He sized them up before nodding. "You are the Sailor Senshi?"

On pure natural instinct, Makoto and Minako threw their arms around each other and started guffawing. "HA HA HA DID YOU HEAR THAT, MAKO? US, SAILOR SENSHI?"

"HA HA HA," Makoto added, smiling a smile so forced that Yayoi wondered if her teeth were going to fall out. Usagi only looked terribly confused as she scratched her head at her friends. Ami, however, looked utterly embarrassed again.

"Well," Yayoi said, "if you aren't the girls that my brother was expecting, then I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"Seiji and I are going to have a good talk about secret identities," Minako grumbled under her breath. Usagi, however, clasped her hands and immediately sprang forward, her eyes watering.

"Please don't kick us out!" she begged. "We're friends of Seiji's, really!"

Grandfather Date sighed, giving Yayoi a slight glance. When his grandson had informed him of the events that had occurred in the past months, he had expected that the Sailor Senshi were much like the Troopers. He was therefore unprepared for an onslaught of rowdiness coming from four barely-adult girls.

"I will show you the way," Grandfather Date said, seceding. "Please follow me."

"Thanks, gramps!" Minako and Usagi both chorused. He and Yayoi shared a look that clearly said they were both going to kill Seiji for this.

Grandfather Date quickly led them through the dojo and into the living quarters. One of the girls whispered something about the architecture, but she quickly hushed when he turned a curious gaze to her. He turned to the nearest door and slid it open.

He stopped short at the sight in front of him. Touma and Shuu were wrestling, wrapped like pretzels around each other on the ground; beside them, Ryo was on his knees, slapping the floor. Rei looked bored, sitting beside them. Shin was paging through a book, but he stood and greeted Grandfather Date when the door opened.

"Hey, you guys made it after all!" Shuu said, looking rather comfortable for being under Touma's armpit.

"Ooh, who's winning?" Makoto asked. "I bet it was Touma."

"Hey!" Shuu protested, although he was grinning.

"Just declared him the winner," Ryo laughed. He saluted them all with a wink as Touma smugly let Shuu out of his hold. "Was your trip alright?"

"It was _great_," Usagi gushed, her eyes lighting up. "Mako-chan made _the_ best lunch."

"Hey, where's our handsome friend at?" Minako asked, glancing around the room as if Seiji was going to pop out of a corner.

"He's teaching a class right now," Grandfather Date said stiffly. "He will be finished soon. If you will excuse me, I have to prepare for my own."

"Thanks, gramps!" Minako and Usagi said again, grinning at him as he left.

Despite Shuu's grumblings, they decided to begin training once Seiji regrouped with them. "What, seriously?" Shuu complained. "Don't you wanna get accustomed to the Date lifestyle?"

"We can do that later," Minako said flippantly. "To be honest, I've been waiting to let out some steam."

"Tell me about it," Makoto agreed, cracking her knuckles. "School's been stressing me out."

"I'm so _hungry_," Usagi said. Everyone ignored her.

At Ami's request, they split up into three different groups for their training session. Seiji didn't mind being grouped with Makoto; Minako, however, looped her arm around his and gave him a pretty smile. "Just because you're cute doesn't mean I won't hesitate to kick your ass, Seiji."

Seiji smiled feebly in response. His gaze strayed to where Ryo and Rei stood, wondering where they would be training. Ami had decided to pair up with Shin, which made sense to him as they both seemed like they could bring out the best in each other. It was the last group that worried him.

Touma blinked once he realized who the other members of his training party were. He briefly wondered how tough Usagi was before he shrugged it off. He'd just seen her take down Death Phantom, hadn't he? Still... "Usagi and Shuu, huh? I suppose I can take it easy then."

"Must be an 'only child' thing," Usagi said, not at all offended, as Touma continued to sit around, blissfully unaware of the scowl Shuu was giving him.

"_What's_ an 'only child' thing?" Minako puckered up her lips as Makoto and Ami both raised their eyebrows. Usagi laughed nervously, backing away.

"Oh, maybe—maybe I meant a, uh, a _Touma_ thing, you know, nothing wrong at all with single children!" Usagi quickly saw that she was losing the battle. As Rei narrowed her eyes, Usagi latched onto Makoto's arm and beamed and said sweetly. "I _love_ you guys."

"Right, uh huh," Makoto said, side-eyeing her. "As if those puppy dog eyes are going to work. Must be an 'oldest child' thing."

"Mako-chan!" Usagi protested.

They all quickly split up. Seiji led Makoto and Minako to the kyudo grounds. Ami and Shin took an area behind the dojo grounds, while Shuu, Touma and Usagi squabbled over the backyard or the spare grounds. Rei and Ryo ended up in the fields also behind the dojo grounds, though farther away than Ami and Shin.

"I want to try something," Rei said before they could even begin sparring. Ryo blinked as Rei's hands suddenly clasped his; he opened his mouth, but any words flew out of his brain when their hands started burning. His first instinct was to flinch away, but then he realized that it didn't hurt. He leaned in closer, watching as the flames enveloped their fingers.

Then Rei pulled her hands away. The fire flickered into smoke, and the heat was gone. Her unnerving violet eyes scanned his features, gauging his reaction.

"What did you do?" Ryo asked quietly, taken aback by how comfortable the feeling had been. He turned his hands over, examining them. The corners of her lips turned up.

"Hmm," she said softly. "So Ami was right."

Ryo could only stare. Rei continued, this time looking amused.

"She noticed something during our battle against Death Phantom. Whenever I was around you, my powers seemed to get stronger. Without you here, there's no way I would be able to do this without transforming. Ami thought that maybe we would have an affinity for each other—like she and Mouri, or Mako, Minako and Date. She wondered if maybe you would be able to call up my power."

"So you think..." Ryo began, trying to wrap his mind around the concept. "Is that why we split up the way we did?"

"More or less." Rei shrugged. "Although Usagi, Shuu and Touma don't really fit in."

"Do you think you could call my armor?" Ryo asked suddenly. Rei appeared startled; apparently the thought had never crossed her mind. "I mean, if you're saying you think I can use your powers, you could probably use mine."

"We should take it one step at a time," Rei muttered; she was surprised at how her heart had leapt at his words. Sure, she had admired these armors for how capable they were (as well as more practical), but to actually _want_ more power... Her worries enveloped her again, but only for a brief moment.

"Right, sorry." Ryo grinned, holding out his hands. "So, what's the first step?"

And this was where Rei wondered where to start. She knew how to innately call her power up, but teaching someone was completely different. Maybe he would know. He did, after all, also understand the feeling of fire—that it wasn't something that one could put in words.

"Stop that," Ryo said. Rei blinked.

"What?"

"You were staring."

Rei stared some more. He rolled his eyes.

"Can we get back to the whole fireball thing?"

Rei shrugged. "It's not hard. You just feel it."

"Feel it," Ryo repeated flatly. It was his turn to stare. When she refused to comment any more, he sighed and looked at his hands. "Alright, well, I'll just feel it then."

Hours later, he was ready to give up. Ryo could feel the heat at the tips of his fingers, but not even a spark lit up the dark sky. "Maybe it's impossible," he said, despite his stubbornness. "Maybe it's just a Senshi thing."

"You were almost there," Rei said thoughtfully. "One more time?"

"Whatever you say," Ryo said, dubious. Still, he closed his eyes and tried to will the flames to shoot out of his hands. Again he felt the warmth slowly spread to his fingertips, but it was as if there was something blocking them. He opened his eyes and sighed. "Hino—"

And suddenly Rei's hands were on the back of his neck, pulling his lips down to hers. Ryo almost jerked away, but her fingers were tangled in his hair and he snapped his eyes shut, kissing her back just as fervently. There was something almost desperate inside him, something he didn't even realize he knew he had as his tongue brushed against her teeth, and he wondered if maybe Rei was just that good of a kisser or if maybe he needed to get on a plane to Spa—

Rei broke away just as abruptly as she had kissed him; Ryo stumbled forward before he swallowed and gaped at her. "What—"

He looked down and saw that his hands were on fire. His mouth dropped open as Rei tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I guess it worked."

"What?" Ryo repeated, absolutely flabbergasted. "What just—I don't—"

He shook his hands; the fire grew twice its size. Alarmed, he tried to throw the flames away; they sizzled through the air before disappearing into dust. Ryo paused, still feeling warmth course through his body. Maybe if he focused again...

The flames reappeared. He found that with just the right amount of energy, he could change the size of the flames. It was almost natural, in a way that he wondered why he was struggling so hard before.

"Not that hard, is it?" Rei looked almost proud. He grinned at her, twirling tiny balls of fire in his fingers.

"This is what you go through every time?"

"More or less," Rei said, and she found herself mirroring his smile. The look on his face was absolutely awed, and she was sure that was how she looked the first time she became Sailor Mars. If anyone would know what it was like, it would be him.

"Hino, about that kiss—"

Rei glanced away abrutply, and Ryo swore he saw her blush. "You were thinking too hard," she said quickly. "And Ami thought that you need to be in a certain state of mind in order for these powers to develop—for example, she and Shin are probably meditating right now to be calm like water, and fire—my powers are representative of passion, of course, and obviously it worked."

A smirk slowly crossed Ryo's face. He'd never thought he would ever hear her ramble. "So," he said, almost teasingly, "it meant nothing?"

"Of course it meant nothing," Rei said, giving him a slight glance. The eye contact made her cheeks redden even more.

"If you say so," Ryo said before he tossed a few fireballs into the air. They crackled away, leaving a trail of smoke in their wake. "Although you seemed really into it."

Ryo couldn't help but laugh as she reached out and smacked him on the shoulder. "Don't get any ideas," Rei huffed, crossing her arms and glaring at him.

"Wouldn't even dream of it," Ryo said, winking.

"You have something in your eye, Sanada?" Rei retorted. Ryo couldn't believe it; he'd heard from Minako that Rei, despite her cool persona around them, was easily agitated. He'd thought that she was just pulling his leg. Seeing her now glaring at him, however, he couldn't stop laughing. "Stop that!"

Despite her protests, though, Rei eventually started laughing too. She ran a hand through her hair, looking slightly embarrassed—but Ryo thought she'd never looked so unrestrained. It suited her, he thought. And then he realized that she was a lot like him. Underneath the propriety and cool-headed stares, she was wild at heart.

The two of them spent the rest of their sparring time bantering and joking. Ryo somehow found himself telling her about his childhood in the mountains. She was quiet throughout, but when his words fell quiet she spoke up.

"You have a good father," she said. Ryo felt his lips pull into an appreciative smile.

"You know, you're the only one who's said that. Everyone else thinks he's irresponsible."

"He cares about you," Rei said. "That's enough, isn't it? My father..."

Her words trailed off. She looked faintly bothered. Ryo felt that she was retreating back into the cold persona once more. "Rei?"

"My father left my mother to die," Rei said. She sighed, glancing up at the sky. "She was sick but he was too caught up in his job to care. I'm envious of you, actually."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to—"

"You shouldn't apologize for other people's feelings," Rei interrupting, giving him a small smile. "What can you help if I'm jealous?"

"I really can't understand you at all," Ryo admitted. Rei met his gaze with an amused one of her own. "But thanks."

"Mm."

After some time, they decided to regroup. As the two of them walked back to the main grounds of the dojo, however, Ryo couldn't but think back to that kiss. In that single moment when he stopped thinking, he realized what exactly it was that he wanted and needed. The problem was—how willing was he to let himself try to be happy?

x

Setsuna wondered how much longer she was going to feel like a thirteen-year-old school girl who had just went on her first date. She fiddled with her seatbelt as the light above her dinged off; her eyes peered out the window for a moment before she finally leaned back against the seat. Beside her, with her face smushed against the window, Kayura oohed and ahhed.

"Setsuna, we're really in the sky without magic," Kayura said, unable to stop staring at the clouds. She looked so much younger in a modern skirt and top; Setsuna wondered if maybe ruling the Youjakai was too much of a burden for her. "This is amazing! I didn't know the human world was capable of this, I wonder how this airplane works, perhaps I should ask Tenkuu no Touma when I see him."

"Hotaru-chan might know," Setsuna said. The younger girl's eyes lit up at the mention of her dear friend.

"Of course!" she said before she stuck her face back against the window. Setsuna smiled before she closed her eyes. The two of them were on their way to Spain; for Setsuna, the trip had been planned, but for Kayura it was on a whim. They had been talking the previous night about the state of affairs in the Youjakai when Kayura suddenly asked if she could visit. And, even as Rajura lectured her in the background, who was Setsuna to say no?

Her phone buzzed. Setsuna opened her eyes to glance at the text message from Shin. It was only a few words, wishing her well on her flight, but it was enough to make her smile widen. She felt silly, but she couldn't help it. The last time she'd attempted a relationship, it had ended completely wrong. Her partner then couldn't understand why she was constantly cancelling dates, and eventually he'd had enough of her secrets. She was left with the unbearable feeling that she should have known better—that being the kind of Senshi she was had its price, that the Time Gates waited for no one, that she was silly for even trying.

Now, however... Now it was completely different.

Setsuna sighed as she put her phone away; her thoughts flashed back to the week before. Shin had invited her over for a home-cooked dinner. That itself wasn't anything new; she knew that he had recently been invested in cooking. She appreciated his efforts, especially when he confessed that his original dish was an eggplant stir fry. The two of them were comfortable, as they always were.

It was what happened after dinner, though, that she couldn't stop smiling about.

Shin was adamant in bringing her home; he refused to let her take the train herself, despite the fact that she could easily take down any person who tried to attack her. Setsuna humored him, thinking it was sweet. Maybe a part of her wanted to believe it was more than just a polite gesture, but at the time she didn't realize it.

"We should get ice cream," Shin said, disrupting her thoughts once they exited the train station. She blinked and glanced at her watch.

"It's midnight."

"It's the perfect time," Shin said, grinning at her. She wondered if he knew that he really had a disarming smile; she was already leading the way to the nearest shop.

And so minutes later, the two of them were in front of her doorstep, each holding ice cream cones. Setsuna couldn't help but smile as Shin tried to get every melting drop. "Thank you for tonight," she said quietly. He turned his attention to her.

"Thank _you_ for tonight," he replied in that not-quite teasing way of his. He was very good at being charming without trying, she thought. "Maybe next time you could make me dinner."

"If you enjoy pancakes," Setsuna said. Shin laughed.

"Ryuusuke did mention that was all you brought to lunch."

"Ryuusuke should learn to mind his own business," Seetsuna sighed, shaking her head.

"Then we wouldn't have met." Shin touched his ice cream cone to hers. "Kampai."

Setsuna raised her eyebrows, watching at he bit at his newly flavored cone. Strawberry mixed with banana. "That's like an indirect kiss, you know that?"

And that was when Shin became oddly quiet. She opened her mouth, ready to ask what was on his mind, before he suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled her close. Both of their cones splattered to the floor, but they paid them no mind. Setsuna felt faintly alarmed at the sudden close proximity; her stomach fluttered when she realized that his other hand was lingering by her cheek. And then gently and yet strongly—in the way that Shin was about everything in his life—he kissed her.

The kiss was brief, but it was enough to make her speechless.

"Goodnight," Shin murmured before letting go of her hand. He slowly smiled before taking a step back. "Let me know when you're free again."

All Setsuna could do, in her utterly muddled state of mind, was watch as he made his way down the street. He had messaged her the next day, thanking her for dinner, and even though Setsuna was reluctant—she couldn't disagree with what she knew she wanted. So she called him and asked to meet up later—for something, anything, just time for the two of them to fit together.

To say she was surprised was an understatement; she had been completely overwhelmed. She supposed, though, that she should have known. There had always been the little inkling that maybe Shin's smiles meant a little more than 'have a nice day,' but she hadn't allowed herself to acknowledge it. Her _duty_ hadn't allowed her to acknowledge it.

But ever since Michiru had almost choked her to death for trying to give up her life in that fight... Setsuna sighed, putting her phone away. She couldn't kid herself any longer. She had given up too much of her time trying to tie herself to destiny. While Queen Selenity of the Silver Millennium would have been honored, her princess now would be appalled.

Setsuna knew too much about letting the world decide for her. And while she would have been the most resilient in obeying orders, she also had her limits.

Letting Shin take her on a date—letting him kiss her goodnight on her doorstep—letting him make her realize that it was alright to fall for him—Setsuna would regret none of it. And Shin understood that the Time Gates waited for no one, that she was a different kind of Senshi, and all of that was okay with him.

Then a thought hit her as the plane landed—Haruka, Hotaru and Michiru were going to make fun of her for the rest of her life.

* * *

**an **oops, a little rushed, shorter than usually and slightly rei-centric. sorry!

i have headcanons for rei's grandpa that involves him being a supernatural exorcist in his youth. it'd be like his own spin-off haha he'd be a travelling youngster and spirits would seek him out bc they need his help to move onto the afterlife or something and along the way he'd meet uptight grandpa date and they'd be bffs and it'd be FANTASTIC bc one's a skirt-chasing fiend and the other loves bonsai trees. omg i thought about this way too much.

also... shin and setsuna ahh!

anyway, as this comes to a sort-of close, i was wondering what you guys would think of a sequel. i might have one planned, but i'm not too sure if i want to start on that. i do, however, have plot bunnies for an entirely separate crossover between these two series that's a little more serious than this one... would anyone be interested in that as well?

as always, thank you for reading :D


	21. epilogue iv

**twenty**

It had four days since they had all gathered in Sendai. After a rather intensive training session (Ryo and Rei nearly burned each others' eyebrows off, Shin had successfully found the water state of mind but accidentally drowned half of Seiji's mother's plants, and Touma and Shuu ended up in a squabble that Minako somehow goaded into a janken tournament), the two groups decided to relax. Makoto quickly suggested card games, and everyone seemed keen on the idea.

"Do we need more drinks?" Seiji glanced around, taking a count of the empty cans. The market was down the street a ways, but it seemed like they would all be up late. Shin, Ryo, Minako, Makoto and Shuu were caught up in a rather passionate game of Go Fish. "I'll go get more."

"I'll go with you," Rei murmured, swiftly standing up and approaching the door before anyone could protest. Minako's eyebrows shot up, but no one else seemed affected by her change in attitude. Seiji hesitated before he nodded.

"Thank you," he said, to which Rei gave him the slightest—just the slightest—of smiles.

"Shuu, give me your three," Makoto said. Shuu scowled.

"How'd you know I had a three?"

"You don't have a very good poker face," Makoto teased. Shuu handed over his card, and she triumphantly threw down her own. "Minako, eight?"

"Nope!" Minako chirped. She beamed at her friend. "Mako, ten?"

"How'd you know?" Makoto asked, placing down her card.

"You don't have a very good poker face," Minako said, at which Makoto blushed and Shuu roared with laughter.

"It's okay, babe, we're just two of a kind," Shuu said, grinning at her. Makoto's face reddened even more as she stared at her cards, unsure of what to say. Minako grinned slyly, nudging Ryo. Ryo had his own smirk on his face, knowing just how much Shuu adored Makoto.

"Now if only he has the guts to just kiss her already," Minako whispered behind a hand. Ryo chuckled, especially when the two subjects glared them.

"What's so interesting, you two?" Makoto asked.

"Oh, you know, leader talk," Ryo said. He glanced around, trying to find something to divert their attention to. His gaze landed on Ami, who was paging through a book next to Usagi. Touma, beside them, was focused on his own set of books. "Ami, what are you reading?"

"Only _the_ best manga series ever!" Usagi said enthusiastically. "Don't bother her! This is the one and only time Ami-chan is allowed to read at a group gathering!"

"Usagi, is that my set?" Makoto shook her head once she realized that her name was indeed scrawled on the spine. "I wondered where it went."

"Don't worry, it's in good hands now," Ami said as Usagi clasped her hands and quickly apologized to Makoto.

"Jeez, Touma," Shuu said, raising his eyebrows and bringing attention to the bearer of Tenkuu. "Even Ami's put down the books."

"Almost to the end," Touma said faintly, turning the page. Ami smiled softly, glancing at the spine of the book. It was a mystery, in English. A small burst of excitement ran through her; she had read that book a year ago and found it to be entirely enthralling.

"Let him finish," Ami said, her eyes bright. "It's a very engaging book, I'd like for him to finish it."

Touma glanced at her, startled. She returned her gaze with a bright one of her own; cheeks pink, Touma quickly turned back to his book. Minako and Ryo exchanged amused glances again.

Shin, who had been messaging Setsuna during the lull of the game, put down his phone, looking pleased with himself. He turned to the card game at hand to realize that at the small motion, everyone was now staring at him.

"How's the girlfriend?" Shuu asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Oooooh," Usagi and Minako chorused, clasping hands. "Did you tell Setsuna that you miss her and love her?"

Shin rolled his eyes, but the two blondes easily caught his blush. They giggled together as Makoto shook her head. "I always thought Setsuna had game," she said to Ryo, who laughed.

"So tell us again," Minako said, scrambling forward. Usagi was right at her heels. "How did you woo her?"

"Don't spare any details!" Usagi added. Shin ran a hand through his hair, shrinking back from the zealous pair.

"I don't kiss and tell," he said, hoping to deter them. That only made them squeal even louder.

"Oh leave him alone," Ami said, pulling Minako back before she got too close to Shin. "You've heard the story a million times already."

"What, are you jealous, Mizuno?" Minako teased, grabbing her friend into a headlock. Shuu snorted as Ami's petit frame flailed under her friend's grip. "Better confess your feelings now before he and Setsuna get serious!"

"M—minako!" Ami protested weakly. Minako's elbow suddenly slipped and she flopped over on her face. Ami took the opportunity to crawl away. Shin took her elbow and helped her up; she gave him a grateful smile.

"Excuse me," Touma muttered under his breath, interrupting the banter. He got to his feet and stalked towards the sliding door, slamming it shut behind him. There was a silence after his sudden departure; uneasily, Makoto cleared her throat.

"What just happened?" she asked.

"No clue," Shuu said, exchanging bewildered glances with Ryo.

"I'll go check on him," Shin said faintly. He handed his cards to Usagi, who eagerly started rearranging them. "I'll be back."

There was a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that made him think it had something to do with him. Shin carefully slipped on his shoes, maneuvering through the halls. He could barely feel Touma's armor in the grounds behind the dojo. True to his instinct, he found the bearer of Tenkuu lying in the middle of the field, staring up at the night sky.

Touma tensed when he heard Shin approaching. He didn't need to look up to know who it was; it was their connection through their armor that let him know it was Shin. He closed his eyes briefly, taking a deep breath.

"Touma—"

"I don't want to talk to you right now."

Ah, Shin thought. So he had been right—it _had_ something to do with him. "What's wrong?"

"I said I don't want to talk to you." Touma sat up abruptly, throwing a glare over his shoulder. "Can't you at least understand that?"

Shin knew better than to get angry. Touma was impulsive when it came to his feelings; although the moments were rare, there were times when he acted without thinking. "If you tell me what's wrong—"

Touma sprang to his feet and started off, his pace quick in his anger. Shin sighed and hurried after him. If he had learned one thing about his friends, it was that leaving them to their anger was catastrophic. Seiji he wasn't so much worried about, as the blonde had a keen idea of himself; Shuu, Touma and Ryo, however, managed to subconsciously channel the powers of their armor when riled up.

"Touma," Shin called out. He hadn't expected Touma to stop, but the blue-haired genius did—and then he whirled around and socked Shin in the face. Thrown off by the sudden assault, Shin took a moment to rub his jaw as he fell back. Touma stood facing him, glaring at him in a way he had never seen before.

"You're an idiot," Touma said darkly. "You're sitting there bragging about Setsuna when Mizuno is sitting right there."

Shin _stared_. If anything, that fueled Touma's anger. He swung his arm back again, but Shin was ready this time; he evaded Touma's punch, grabbing his arm and pinning it behind him. Touma, however, was physically stronger. He wrestled out of Shin's grip and shoved him back.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Shin asked, utterly baffled.

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with _you_?" Touma replied. "What, were you playing with her this whole time?"

"Playing with _who_?" Shin didn't mean to raise his voice, but none of what Touma was saying made any sense. Touma was irrational, sometimes, but never like this. This—there had to be something more.

"Don't play stupid," Touma said. That was another thing about Touma's anger—despite the temper flare, his voice was always so level, so calm. And Shin, hardly the type to get riled up, found this to be most maddening. "I'm talking about Mizuno. I've seen the way you look at her, Shin, and the way she looks at you. I'd be an idiot not to."

"Do you hear yourself right now?" Shin said incredulously. "Do you honestly _hear_ yourself right now?"

Touma's jaw clenched. Shin shook his head and ran his hands through his hair, feeling his irritation build.

"Gods, Touma, you're a complete idiot, do you know that?"

"Who are you to call me—"

"Touma," Shin said firmly, striding forward and clasping him on the shoulder. Touma, for a second, seemed like he wanted to throw his hand off; one look at Shin's eyes, however, and he knew he couldn't. Shin always knew how to get someone to pay attention. "You are the biggest, most aggravating idiot in the world, and I believe it's because you're an only child."

Touma scowled, this time shoving Shin away. For some reason, he felt his anger curb. Damn Shin to be able to do that. "You're not making a very good case for me to listen to you."

"Like you listen to anyone," Shin murmured. He sighed, shaking his head. Touma thought there was pity in his gaze. "Touma, I've never had any feelings for Mizuno, and she has none for me."

"But—"

"Listen to yourself," Shin said. "Do you realize what you sound like?"

Touma clamped his mouth shut, suddenly feeling abashed. He knew exactly what he sounded like.

"You sound like a jealous idiot," Shin said, as if he needed to clarify. "I don't understand why you came to the conclusion that I liked Mizuno like that, but I don't. And she knows that. No one was misled."

Touma glanced away, glaring at the grass. A slow breeze picked up, ruffling his hair. A quiet tension filled the air between them, but it was a different feeling from before. Shin radiated understanding, but all Touma felt was shame.

"Touma—"

"Sorry," Touma said, rubbing the back of his neck. His posture slumped, all traces of anger fading away. "I didn't mean—"

"It's fine," Shin said, shaking his head. It was anything but fine, but he knew better than to hold a grudge. "But you should—"

"I know," Touma said, looking embarrassed—as he rightly should be, Shin thought. "I don't know what's gotten into me. I've never felt so—irrational."

"You really like her, don't you?"

It was interesting to see the emotions play out on Touma's face. He seemed surprised at first that someone actually knew—then mortified as he wondered if he was obvious. Shin kept quiet, though, waiting for Touma to talk. He _needed_ to talk.

Another moment of awkward silence passed before Touma sighed. "This isn't like me at all."

"You're right. I can't imagine why you would ever let someone else get the girl instead of thinking for yourself, as you are so apt to do, my only-child friend." Shin laughed when Touma rolled his eyes. "In all seriousness, though, Touma—"

"I know," Touma said.

"You keep saying that," Shin pointed out.

"I know," Touma said, and he cringed. He really _was_ a mess. This was completely unlike him; he hadn't felt this way since his parents had divorced long ago. Even then, he had the job of taking care of himself to distract him from becoming totally undone. But now—now that they were in an odd moment of peace, with new allies and an adventurous journey in front of him—now Touma had to face himself. "Thanks, Shin."

Shin clasped Touma on the shoulder, smiling. Then, without warning, he swung his fist back and punched Touma right in the jaw. Touma staggered back, clutching at his chin. "Shin—"

"Now we're even," Shin said. He could see Toums struggling with the idea that he might have deserved it. "Come on, let's get back before everyone worries."

They returned to find that Seiji and Rei had replenished their drink supply. Touma spotted the smudge of dirt on the hem of Rei's skirt, as well as the disheveled look of Seiji's own shirt. No one else seemed to notice; he raised his eyebrows at his blonde friend, who discretely shook his head. Later, that meant.

"Ah, melon soda!" Usagi sighed contently, clutching the bottle in front of her chest. "My favorite."

"Always thought you were a melon kind of girl," Shuu said. Usagi stuck out her tongue.

"Always thought _you_ were a cherry kind of guy," she retorted. Then her eyes lit up. "Hey, Mako-chan likes cherry too!"

Before anyone could say anything else, Shuu leaned over and sipped at Makoto's straw. He sat back, looking satisfied. "Yep, she's a cherry kind of girl."

"WOAH, talk about indirect KISS," Minako roared, seizing the moment. She and Ryo slapped hands, grinning notoriously as Makoto flustered around. She ended up choosing to speak with her fists; Makoto noogied Minako until the blonde squealed for mercy.

"Hey, Mizuno," Touma said, and he felt as if all eyes were suddenly on him. He tried to ignore Minako and Usagi's wily smiles, focusing instead on the petit girl in front of him. "Did you bring anything to study?"

Ami blinked. "A few materials, but not too much. Usagi threw out half of my books out of my suitcase."

"Oh, well," Touma said, and he scratched his cheek. "Do you think sometime this week, you could go over the homework set? There was a problem that I wanted a second opinion on."

Which wasn't completely a lie. Touma _had_ found a problem disconcerting, but only because of the wording of the problem. He had solved it three ways and gotten three different answers, all of which were completely logical according to each interpretation of the problem. Ami nodded, smiling slightly.

"I think I might know which one you're talking about," she said understandingly. "For all his genius, our professor certainly has a limited grasp on grammar."

Touma's lips quirked up. He couldn't deny that little flip that his stomach did. Of course Ami would know what he was talking about. It felt ridiculously wonderful to know that someone out there could follow his train of thought. "Let me know when you're free."

Ami played with the corner of her manga. Her gaze was thoughtful and almost guarded—or was he looking too much into it? "Whatever's convenient for you," she said quietly.

"I'd say right now," Touma replied, leaning forward slightly, "but you know, these crazy friends of ours will never let us hear the end of it."

The two of them turned back to their friends, who had been watching the whole exchange with bated breath. Abruptly they turned back to the drinks, pretending that they hadn't been obviously eavesdropping.

"Seiji, let's share one!" Minako said, shoving a can under Seiji's nose. Seiji actually sputtered as he reeled back. Minako gaped when Rei grabbed the can, popped it open and drank without a moment's hesitation. "Um, excuse me, Hino-sama, that was for me and Seiji."

"Was it?" Rei raised an eyebrow before handing the drink to Seiji. "My mistake."

Seiji wondered what on earth was going on. He gave Ryo a bewildered look; Ryo only gave him a thumbs up and full-toothed grin.

"Anyway," Touma said, turning back to Ami. She looked hesitant for a moment before she excused herself.

"I can grab the assignment now," she said, disappearing from the room. Touma took two seconds to realize that he should follow after her; he scrambled out the door, ignoring Shuu's smirks. Everything was starting to make sense now—why everyone had been teasing him about her. It was because he was as obvious as Byakuen at the mall.

Touma quickly made his way down the hall, stopping abruptly in front of the room Ami was sharing with Minako. She quickly emerged, looking a bit startled that he was there. "Oh," he said, trying to play it cool. "I thought we could just sit outside and look at it."

"Oh," Ami said. She nodded slightly. "Lead the way."

And as Ami followed, she couldn't help but think—wasn't this sort of what she really wanted this whole time? To spend time with Touma under the stars, discussing theories and imparting knowledge on each other? She wrung her hands, casting her gaze to the floor. If only this had happened a week earlier, before she had committed herself to ignoring her little crush in order to focus on—on teamwork and group dynamics.

The two of them settled down in the courtyard. Ami had quickly recognized that the Date dojo was wonderfully detailed. The courtyard was no exception; Seiji's mother had a fondness for plants, and Makoto's keen eye had appreciated the variety of plants that she had shown them. Ami, however, was more fascinated with the architecture of the place.

Ami sighed inaudibly before turning to Touma; she was abruptly startled when she realized he was watching. She blushed. He smiled. "Sorry, you just looked so focused."

"Oh," Ami said. She sheepishly ran a hand through her hair. "I was just thinking..."

His stare became curious. "About?"

"It's nothing." Her cheeks flushed as she glanced down and played with her hands. "I was admiring the structure of the dojo. It's crafted beautifully. Nothing is put in place without reason, but it doesn't sacrifice visual."

"Hmm," Touma said thoughtfully, chin in hand. "I never thought you'd have an aesthetic mind as well."

"I might get it from my father."

Oops. Ami froze, wondering why on earth she let those words come out the way they did. She hadn't thought about her father in awhile—not since her last birthday, anyway.

"Ah," Touma said. He seemed to withdraw a little at this. "Are you close to him?"

There was no way out. Ami smiled slightly, peeking under her bangs to meet his gaze. "No, he left when I was young."

Quiet. It wasn't silence, because Ami could see that he was genuinely taking in her answer. Either way, she didn't expect much of a response. She had already dealt with the social stigma of having separated parents when she was younger; it didn't bother her now. She had other things to deal with.

"My parents divorced when I was young," Touma said conversationally. He met her gaze, giving her a wry smile that said he understood. She nodded slowly, unable to look away from his clear blue eyes. "I guess it might be a little silly to let something like that decide my future, but I suppose it's part of the reason I don't want children."

"Ah?"

Touma shrugged. "My mother left the country and my father was too busy. I don't think I could ever put a kid through something like that. It was fine for me, I could manage, but someone else..."

She knew exactly what he was talking about; as a doctor, her mother was unable to be there for a major part of her childhood. Maybe before she met Usagi she would have felt the same way as him, but now... "I think I disagree with you."

"Do you now?"

He sounded amused. Ami glanced up at the night sky. "My mother's a doctor, so she was never home. That was her personal choice, though. It doesn't mean that I'll do the same to my children. In fact—I want as big of a family as I can, so I can love them as they should be loved. I don't want them to be lonely like I was. And I won't sacrifice my career, either. There's a balance in everything."

Hesitantly, Ami met his gaze again. He was looking at her with a solemn gaze, one that had her heart pattering. Oh dear, she thought, here comes the rash. She instinctively made to scratch her elbow, but nothing was there. Ami paused—had she been cured?

"You know, if you were Shuu, I'd think you just wanted a lot of sex," Touma joked, and Ami's entirely body flared up. She buried her face in her knees and furiously scratched, trying not to pass out. Touma started sputtering once he realized what he actually said. "I—I'm sorry! I didn't—are—are you okay?"

He placed a hand on her shoulder; Ami slapped his hand away and scrambled backwards, scratching at her face. "Allergies," she managed to get out, her eyes watering. The itching wasn't going to stop. Oh dear, oh dear oh dear. She scrunched her eyes shut, shaking her head. This was ridiculous; there weren't any love letters around!

Suddenly, Ami felt hands rubbing her arms. Her eyes shot open to see Touma staring at the redness of her skin. "It's better to rub," he murmured. "Won't damage your skin that way."

Ami couldn't say anything. She felt the itching go down slowly, but her arms were still a bright red. At least her face wasn't warm anymore. After a moment, Touma drew back and the two of them sat in silence. He scratched his cheek, glancing at her.

"Sorry," Ami mumbled, utterly embarrassed.

"No, I was—I don't think sometimes," Touma admitted. Ami couldn't help but smile.

"You, not think? I can hardly believe it."

He grinned, reaching forward to flick her in the forehead. She yelped, her hands instantly flying to rub the spot. "Believe it," he said. He leaned back on his arms, his grin widening when she blushed. "Say, Ami, what do you know about constellations?"

Her confusion turned into excitement. Touma didn't anyone besides him could get so geeked up over something. "I've actually been looking more into the sky," Ami said, leaning forward. "I think I've managed to get a general area of where Kinmoku is in relation to the moon's orbit."

"Really?" Touma's eyebrows rose. "Do you mind if I take a look at it? I'd like to help, if I can."

"Of course!" Ami said enthusiastically, her eyes brightening. Then there was a beep from the pocket of her skirt. She pulled out a small watch and flipped open the cover. "Mercury."

"Pluto," Setsuna's voice answered. Touma peered at the screen, seeing the older woman appear amidst static. "Ami, I need you to get a scan on the Earth. We were just attacked here in Spain; if there's anything out of order, please let us know."

"Of course," Ami said, and she already had her Mercury computer out. Touma watched as she touched an earring and the goggles appeared across her eyes. She typed away, her gaze concentrated on the words that flew across the vision.

"You can use that outside of your transformation?" Touma asked. Ami nodded, distracted.

"Minor tweaking of Lunar system," she responded. She frowned for a moment, pausing in her typing. "Setsuna, I see two abnormal energy readings by you, but otherwise the rest of the world is clean."

Setsuna looked faintly troubled. "Ami—"

"I'll only tell if it's something we need to be concerned about," she said firmly. This wasn't the first time Setsuna had asked her for a world-wide scan. There were always little things around the world that the Senshi of Space-Time had to deal with—minor occurrences that didn't need to be worried about. Ami trusted Setsuna enough to take care of things.

"I'll let you know if it becomes a problem." Setsuna sighed. "Thank you."

Ami closed the watch. She touched her earring again and the goggles faded away. Touma looked absolutely stunned. "So," he said, "I still can't a figure on that. It's based off of ancient Lunar technology?"

"More or less," Ami said. "What, you couldn't figure out a way to replicate it in the five minutes I let you explore around on my minicomputer?"

Touma rolled his eyes. "Maybe I should take my coffee maker back."

"Maybe you should, it doesn't work very well." Ami laughed when Touma glowered. "I'm just kidding! It works very well."

"Of course it does," Touma said. "I made it."

As the night went on, Ami and Touma fought against sleep as they pointed out constellations in the sky. Touma was impressed with Ami's knowledge on the planets in relation to the galaxy, but she admitted she didn't know much about the stars. That led to him pointing out several constellations, giving very brief histories (she chimed in a few times, leading him to believe that ).

"And of course, I'm sure you know a bit about the Milky Way galaxy," Touma said. He glanced at his watch, realizing that it was absurdly late. "I've been trying to study more on its infamous black hole, but I haven't had time to visit my dad back home. He's got access to a lot of resources at his university."

"Sagittarius zero star," Ami said softly after a moment. "Right?"

"You know it?" Touma asked, intrigued by the peaceful look on her face.

"Of course," Ami replied. "It's the birthplace of all stars."

Touma was perplexed. Surely she knew better? "Nebulas aren't limited to just black holes, Ami..."

Ami shook her head, smiling gently. "Mm, no. I know that. But—Touma, we're all born with stars inside of us. Did you know that? It's true that we're made of stardust. There's the scientific basis—we were formed from elements from the stars. But there's also that logic-defying magic—that we were born to carry stars inside of us, little seeds that we grow."

Touma found himself leaning towards her. Once he realized what he was doing, he stopped. He ran a hand through his hair, smiling slightly. Years ago, he would have called her crazy. Now—with magical armors and skirted sailors taking up his life—he believed every word. "A star's inside of me, huh?"

"A star's inside of you," Ami repeated, and they shared a smile before turning back to spot Venus in the sky.

x

Kayura thought the city of Cuenca was charming, in an idyllic sort of way. It was like a getaway, a hideout, somewhere she could spend her time without much worries. There were no questions as to why Haruka and Michiru wanted to raise their child there; it seemed, however, a bit uncharacteristic. She had assumed that out of all the senshi, they had the most soldier-like mindset.

Then again, maybe anything anyone ever really wanted was peace.

"You looked bothered."

Kayura started, glancing at Hotaru beside her. "I do?"

"Maybe you could tell me about Naaza and feel all better."

Kayura's face turned a bright red. She sunk lower in her seat, trying to hide behind her cup of ice cream. The second she had spotted Hotaru after landing at the airport, she had too excited to think. She had thrown her arms around the girl, chirping in her ear, "I'm so glad to see you! I have to tell you all about Naaza!"

She had quickly corrected, saying that she meant Youjakai, not Naaza. Why would she ever want to talk about Naaza? It wasn't as if they had anything other than a strict Empress-Masho relationship. Of course not.

Except Hotaru had inherited Michiru's ability to sense bullshit. And so hours later, after Hotaru had taken her on a walk throughout the city (Kayura wasn't quite sure if all the whistles from the males were compliments, and Hotaru found it difficult to explain), the two of them sat on a bench with ice cream in the hands. "Naaza?" Kayura said innocently. "Whatever do you mean?"

"You guys kissed, didn't you?"

Kayura whipped around to face Hotaru with a mortified look on her face. "You already know!"

Hotaru gaped. She had only been joking. "You're not serious?"

"I—what?" Kayura looked utterly perplexed. Hotaru's mouth closed, and Kayura had the distinct feeling that she was trying to hold in her laughter. "Stop that!"

"Oh my," Hotaru said quietly, turning away. Her shoulders started shaking; Kayura scrunched her face up, uselessly slapping Hotaru on the back.

"Stop that! Hota_ru_!"

The other girl burst out in laughter, unable to hold it in any longer. "You and _Naaza_?!"

"It just _happened_!" Kayura protested, flailing. "Really, it's not like I've harbored some—some _desire_ for him or anything—"

The made Hotaru laugh even harder. She clutched as her stomach, trying not to drop her ice cream. Kayura, giving up, joined her. After a moment, the two of them caught their breaths.

"It really does sound ridiculous, doesn't it?" Kayura admitted, shaking her head. "But he was so sweet and—and gentle."

Hotaru took a bite of her ice cream so that she wouldn't burst out laughing again. Sweet and gentle was everything that Naaza was not. "That's cute," she chose to say.

"Please don't make fun of me," Kayura mumbled, playing with the ends of her hair. Hotaru sighed.

"I won't," she promised. "Not that much, anyway."

"Hotaru!"

"But I'm glad. You seem happy."

A smile bloomed across Kayura's face. While she appreciated her friend's sentiment, she also knew that two could play at this game. "So, you seem to be good friends with Rekka no Ryo."

"Eh?" Hotaru replied just as casually, watching the sun slowly start to dip. Kayura's little smile widened.

"_Anubis_ brought up to me that Rekka pays a lot of attention to you."

"Eh?" Hotaru purposely repeated as she dipped her spoon into her ice cream. She popped the spoon in her mouth and gave Kayura an innocent look.

"In fact, Anubis talks about you quite a lot," Kayura continued, swirling her ice cream around. There was a mischievous gleam in her eye. "I've never heard him ramble on and on like this before."

If there was one thing that Michiru could claim to have instilled in Hotaru, it was the beautiful art of lying. She played it cool, despite the little bubble in her stomach. "You're sure he's not just grumbling about how stupid I am?"

"Well, okay, that might be it," Kayura said as she stabbed as her now-empty cup, "but really, I haven't heard him grumble so _fondly_!"

"Do you realize how insane you're making him sound?"

"Pfft!" Kayura rolled her eyes, turning her body to face her friend. "You think that's insane? Try listening to Naaza's lectures. I swear, that boy is the epitome of crazy."

"And yet you kissed him," Hotaru pointed out. She almost smirked when Kayura started blushing.

"I never should have told you that," Kayura muttered, pouting. Hotaru nudged her, wagging her eyebrows up and down. "Stop that!"

"I probably should have seen it coming," Hotaru mused, glancing up. "I mean, the way you two bickered was _obviously_ your guys' way of flirting."

"I'm not sure what this flirting thing is," Kayura huffed, "but I'm certain we were _not_ doing that!"

The two of them were quiet for a moment before they started giggling. Hotaru shook her head. "You and _Naaza_. That's crazy."

"Not as crazy as you and Rekka," Kayura said. "And if I may subject you to my opinion—"

"If you so wish, Empress," Hotaru interrupted, but Kayura ignored her.

"—then I suggest you ditch him and pick my dear Yami Masho. He's stronger."

"Is he now," Hotaru said, feigning disinterest in the topic. She had no idea where everyone was getting the idea that she was interested in either Ryo or Anubis. Haruka had pulled her aside just before they left to Spain, lecturing her to focus on her studies and to forget about boys who had tigers for pets. Michiru had saved her, saying that Ryo should be the least of her worries since Anubis was the epitome of devil-may-care.

"No boys!" Haruka had shrieked as a way to end the conversation. Sestuna, pitying Hotaru, gave her own opinion.

"Ryo's very handsome," she said, nodding sagely, "and Anubis is very manly. I suppose it's all up to what your taste is, Hotaru."

Hotaru's tastes, at the moment, concerned catching up on months of schoolwork so she wouldn't have to repeat a year.

She suddenly felt it at the last second; Kayura did as well. The two of them leapt off the bench, which exploded into splinters of wood. Hotaru barely managed to get a barrier up as something large crashed into them. Kayura had seamlessly transformed from teenage girl to armored warrior. She ducked out from under Hotaru's arm to face a large beast that snarled at them.

Even on all fours, the beast was twice their size. Hotaru narrowed her eyes. This was not a leftover youma from the Dark Kingdom—it reeked entirely of death. She swung her glaive out and leapt forward, ignoring all of instincts which told her to run. The beast roared; with a large swipe of its clawed hand, it flung her aside.

"Hotaru!" Kayura gritted her teeth as Hotaru crashed into a building. "Are you—"

She was cut off as the beast roared again; this time, the sound was deafening. She fought against the chill in her spine, holding out her sickle and chain in front of her. Shuten never did teach her how to use the armor, she thought, but none of it mattered as the beast charged at her.

Kayura jumped at the last second, swinging the sickle out. The chain wrapped around the beast's neck, but it didn't stop. She barely had time to change her grip on the chain before she was yanked along with the beast on its path to destruction. Her heart raced like it had never done before; she maneuvered herself so that she was riding atop the beast.

It suddenly came to a halt, nearly threatening to spill Kayura over. She kept her grip, reaching for the short sword she had strapped to her thigh. Naaza had made fun of her for wanting to add the weapon; he teased that the sickle and chain should be enough if she was skilled, but Kayura didn't want to take chances with an unfamiliar weapon. Thank goodness for her hindsight, she thought as she pulled the sword out.

In one swift motion, she stabbed the beast. It bucked, successfully throwing her off; Kayura rolled onto her side, swinging the sickle and chain up. It sliced the beast's neck, but it wasn't enough to behead it. Kayura cursed under her breath as the beast wildly turned to her. She really needed to take time away from ruling a country so she could learn how to properly wield the damn armor.

The beast loomed over her. She swung the sickle around, but it was no use. It was as if it knew her incompetency with the weapon; the beast let out a roar before its claws came down at her. She rolled off to the side, just in time to see the beast's claws sink into the ground.

This was her chance. Kayura altered her grip on the sickle and chain before lunging forward. The curved blade sank right into the beast's skull; it thrashed around, roaring wildly. The noise grated against her ears, but she clenched her teeth and stood her ground. The beast's eyes rolled to her—she could see its fury before it shrieked even louder than before.

The beast thrashed one last time before twitching and falling. Kayura yanked out her sickle, flicking the beast's guts off of it—then she tensed, whirling around. She relaxed once she realized who she was sensing. "Anubis!"

"Rajura sent me," Anubis said, glancing at the beast's remains. "I see he wasn't being paranoid for no reason."

"You knew this would happen?" Kayura narrowed her eyes, approaching the Yami Masho with her hands on her hips. "Explain yourself."

Anubis frowned. "I should clarify," he said. He met her gaze evenly. "There was a brief wave of energy that spanned across all three lands. The priest of Elysion consulted us on the matter, and we explained to him that you were on leave. Rajura felt it necessary that we contact you directly."

"And so you came here?"

"Apparently just in time," Anubis said. Kayura's eyes darted around as she thought. She didn't even want to ask the next question, dreading the answer.

"Rajura has stayed to watch over the Youjakai?"

"On the contrary, he is visiting Rekka and the others as we speak," Anubis said. He smirked when Kayura paled. "Is something the matter, Empress?"

"Naaza's in charge?" Kayura whispered. When Anubis's smirk grew, she moaned and rubbed at her face. "Oh no, our world will be destroyed."

"And yet you are the one who ki—"

"Oh shut up," Kayura said, nibbling on an armored knuckle. Eventually she decided that Naaza was better than no one at all. She sighed, bringing her gaze back to Anubis. "Thank you for coming."

Anubis inclined his head before another roar deafened them. The two of them exchanged grim glances before hurrying in the direction of the roar; had there been another beast they had overlooked? They didn't have to search long—a creature even larger than the previous one loomed over the buildings, baring its fangs and swiping with its claws.

"What the hell are these things?" Kayura hissed as Anubis raised his nodachi into the air. Before he could do anything, however, the beast turned its attention away from them. "What—"

"That stupid girl," Anubis growled. There, atop a building, looking so small compared to the sheer size of the beast—Hotaru raised her glaive above her head and jumped at the beast. It swiped at her, but at the last second she brought her glaive down, slicing through claw and flesh.

Hotaru didn't stop; she drove her glaive straight into the beast before gravity pulled her down. She landed with a bit of effort, but all sound was drowned out by the magnificent cry of the beast as a dark violet light burst from within it. It staggered around before it finally crashed into the ground, split into two.

"Hotaru!" Kayura cried out, rushing forward. Hotaru slowly got to her feet, still staring at the beast's corpse. The corner of her lip lifted when Kayura was near enough.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine," Kayura said. She frowned as Hotaru turned to fully face her. The front of her dress was bloody, torn by claws. "You're bleeding."

"I've already healed the wound," Hotaru murmured, reaching up to press her hand against the scrape on Kayura's temple. The Silence Glaive disappeared into thin air as she focused on healing.

"Oh," Kayura said, her smile suddenly diffusing the dark atmosphere, "your lover is here."

"Eh?" Hotaru said, temporarily distracted. She blinked a few times before she looked over her shoulder. Anubis was approaching, with two wolves in tow. He _would_ have wolves, she thought. She quickly finished healing Kayura before focusing her attention on Anubis.

Anubis nodded at her. One of the wolves slowly circled her, brushing against her legs. Hotaru absently ran her fingers through its dark fur as she glanced back at the beast she had slain; her eyes narrowed as she witnessed it slowly disappear from sight.

"What in the world," Kayura said, staring at the spot where the beast had been. The ground was still cracked and the buildings around it were in shambles, but the beast was nowhere to be seen. "Where did they come from?"

"We should get back," Hotaru murmured. She quickly led the way through the streets, choosing to take quicker shortcuts through the back roads. Although the area had been empty when the beasts attacked, there was no telling what the roars had attracted. They came upon the cliff-side villa in minutes; Michiru met them just outside of the door.

"I see you ran into trouble as well," she said grimly, taking note of her daughter's appearance. Her eyes flicked towards Anubis. "It's good to see you again."

"Neptune," he greeted just as cordially, bowing slightly. Michiru led the way into the house; they were intercepted by Haruka, who looked just as battle-harried as Hotaru was.

"Let me guess," the blonde said wryly as Kayura let her armor disappear. "Big, scaly, fangs and claws?"

"Big, scaly, fangs and claws," Hotaru confirmed, pushing her hair out of her eyes. She leaned against the back of the sofa, gesturing for Kayura and Anubis to sit. "Setsuna-mama?"

"Here," Setsuna said, coming from the hallway. She smiled briefly at Anubis before turning to Michiru. "Ami says her scans show nothing abnormal."

"So Usagi isn't in danger," Haruka said, still trying to brush the dirt off her pants. "The wind still doesn't feel right, though. We should head back."

"No," Michiru said, her brow furrowed in thought. She was perched on the arm of the sofa, a hand at her lip. "The seas are stormy, but not in a familiar way."

"The priest of Elysion contacted us," Anubis said, drawing their attention. Michiru's eyes narrowed the slightest.

"Helios? What did he say?"

Anubis was quiet for a moment before he spoke again. "I'm not sure why it seems as if you have not felt it here," he said, "but there was a wave of energy that briefly spread across the three barriers. The priest wanted to confirm what he had felt. He said he did not want to concern you just yet."

"Of course he wouldn't," Hotaru said quietly, but Anubis picked up her words. He turned to her expectantly; when she merely tightened her lips and glanced away, he sought answers from her parents.

"He's Chibiusa's boyfriend," Michiru supplied with a slight smile. "Hotaru doesn't approve."

"He's a horse," Hotaru said shortly before turning back to the subject at hand. "Haruka-papa, did you feel anything weird about these creatures?"

"Other than their scaly scales?" Haruka shook her head. "No, why? What did you feel?"

Hotaru glanced at the floor, her eyes narrowed in thought. The fact that Haruka hadn't sensed anything wrong had confirmed it for her. "They felt like the banished demons."

Anubis and Kayura weren't quite sure what that meant, but they saw the varying degrees of shock on the older Senshi's faces. Michiru's eyes widened just the slightest. "Are you sure?" she asked as Haruka ran a hand through her hair.

"I'm sure," Hotaru said, thumb at her lip. Setsuna closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath. "I haven't felt anything like it since the Silver Millennium."

"Can someone explain what all that means?" Kayura piped up, head tilted curiously. "You know what these beasts are?"

"Maybe," Hotaru replied. Her gaze was dark as she glanced out the window. "Probably. Yes. During the Silver Millennium, Beryl had enslaved a race of demons she had goaded out of Hell. Selenity managed to get rid of the ones that invaded the Moon, but Setsuna and I were sent to Hell to deal with the revolt."

"We had to confine their leader to one of the gates in the Underworld," Setsuna murmured. It was all coming back to her. "He vowed revenge on Beryl for allowing us to get to him in the first place, so we weren't concerned with if he was going to attack us or not. It's been thousands of years, though. For him to suddenly start acting up..."

"We'll have to go," Hotaru said, picking up her train of thought. The two of them met each others' gazes for a moment; Setsuna found this to be one of the rare times when Hotaru embodied Saturn completely. It almost—_almost_—made her feel inferior, facing the stare of the infamous soldier of ruin. Then Hotaru smiled softly and the image was broken. "Just like old times."

"I'm going with you," Kayura said automatically. Hotaru was ready to decline, but Kayura stood her ground. "You can't leave me behind, Hotaru. I'll follow you if you go without me."

"Actually, Empress," Setsuna said, "I'm afraid you actually can't come with us. The gates to Hell open only to those with the power of darkness."

Kayura's mouth shut as she brooded for a moment. Haruka mirrored her expression almost perfectly. "You really can't expect us to let you two just waltz into Hell," the blonde said. "Things have changed since back then. You don't know what to expect."

"We didn't know what to expect back then either," Setsuna replied. "Why, are you worried about my well-being, Haruka?"

Any other time, Haruka would have easily brushed off her teasing with an insult of her own. Instead, she sighed and buried her fingers in her hair. "I just don't want you two to get hurt."

"This concerns my world as much as yours," Kayura said, drawing attention to her. "Anubis will go in my stead."

Anubis looked very much like he wished he and Rajura had traded places. He kept quiet, however, for all his sulking. Michiru nodded. "Very well. I trust you, Anubis."

The words made him uncomfortable. He glanced away, saying nothing, but he bowed his head. For the Senshi of Neptune, whose cold person Rajura had expressed his concerns about, to freely admit that she had faith in him... Kayura, however, looked satisfied. "How long will this journey take?"

"To you? Seconds," Setsuna said. The Garnet Rod appeared in her hands. "For us, I suppose it depends on how cooperative everyone is."

Hotaru stood up straight. The Silence Glaive appeared once more. Twice in one day, she thought as her gaze flicked to Anubis. He met her gaze evenly, and she found herself embarrassed for thinking about the conversation she had with Kayura earlier. Stupid teenager problems, she thought.

"Your friends will have to stay," Setsuna said, giving the wolves a pointed glance. Kayura quickly ushered the wolves to her side. Anubis fought against a sigh, placing his helmet on his head. Setsuna nodded before holding her staff into the air. The Garnet Orb pulsed with a dark light.

And they were gone. Then, true to Setsuna's words, they reappeared mere seconds later—with evidence that something had gone terribly wrong. Anubis, his armor charred, was carrying an unconscious Hotaru in his arms. He staggered to his knees, but he kept his grip firmly on her. Setsuna, beside them, planted the Garnet Rod into the ground, leaning on it to catch her breath. She was openly bleeding from a wound on her abdomen—the same wound, Michiru noted, that she had sustained in the battle against Death Phantom.

Kayura gave a shout, starting forward, but Haruka reached the group first. The blonde reached for Hotaru, but Anubis shook his head. Haruka then saw that Hotaru's hand was pressed against Anubis's chest. There was a faint, black glow—one that made her cold just looking at it. "What—"

"She's drawing on my powers to heal herself." Anubis covered Hotaru's hand with his own armored one. His wolves soon were by his side, licking at Hotaru's face. Haruka then saw that there was a large gash across her chest.

"What," Haruka repeated faintly, sitting back. The worry was evident on her face; she was chewing on her lip, feeling absolutely useless. "What do you mean?"

Anubis remained silent as he allowed Kayura to remove his helmet, revealing the wound that matted his hair with blood. His armor slowly faded to his sub-armor. Kayura gingerly touched his wound, frowning when he hissed in pain. "Oh, Anubis..."

"What happened?" Michiru asked, meeting Setsuna's gaze. Setsuna shook her head, her fists clenched. The small gesture was unusual on the normally cool Senshi.

"Empress, you need to take up your role as Kaos's heir," Setsuna chose to say, glancing at Kayura. The girl's expression became burdened, but she nodded nonetheless.

"Setsuna," Michiru said. "What is going on?"

"Contact Helios immediately," Setsuna finally responded after a long moment of silence. In Anubis's arms, Hotaru suddenly lurched with pain; he continued to hold her as Haruka smoothed her hair down. Kayura, not knowing what else to do, placed her hand on Anubis's shoulder in an attempt to transfer some of her own energy to him. With her free arm, she embraced one of the wolves.

Michiru pulled out the Deep Aqua Mirror. Helios answered at once; his graceful features were knotted with worry. "Neptune."

"High Priest." Although she seemed composed, Michiru couldn't fight against the anxiety that buried deep in her stomach. She cast a glance back at Hotaru, whose wounds seemed to be healing too slowly.

"Helios," Setsuna said, moving so that she could see him. Michiru noted that her sister senshi was limping. Just what on earth had happened?

"You visited Hell," Helios said, almost breathless. He shook his head. "How—"

"Prepare yourself." Setsuna cut him off. Her gaze was troubled. "We may be at war."

* * *

**an** so this chapter with the outers sort of leads into the plot of the (planned) sequel... setsuna, hotaru and anubis in hell? wow i wonder what kind of trouble they accidentally released!

shin and touma's scene omg i didn't know how to write it bc it's shin and touma! hopefully it wasn't too out of character; i mean, these guys have been to the end of the world and back for each other, and while i do doubt that they would let a girl get in-between them... it's touma and he's kind of an idiot (for all his wonderful smarts). he's actually the only trooper that i could see doing something like this; shuu and ryo too bromancey, seiji too scared of girlies, and shin too shin. so yes! i hope that wasn't disappointing or weird to read; i tried to write it in a way that was still in character, so hopefully it came across as so. constructive criticism very much welcome hahahahaha ;;

as always, thank you for reading!


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